anicrs  Great  ProphccvJ 
The  Eastern  Question 
The  Kif  gdom 


;eV.  NATHANieis  W6ST,  D.D. 


HD^^  DHD 


£ibrar;y)  of  Che  Cheolo^ical  ^tmmary 

PRINCETON  •  NEW  JERSEY 

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FROM   THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE 

REVEREND  CHARLES  ROSENBURY  ERDMAN 
D.D.,  LL.D. 

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.W5I 


^-'^t.'^6d'<^v..<ft^^ 


Daniel's  Great  ProphecyT 

The  Eastern  Question. 

The  Kingdom. 


Rev.  Nathaniel  West,  D.  D. 


nos*  2n3 


PUBLISHED     15V  , 

THE     HOPE    OF     ISRAEL    MOVEMENT, 

A.  C.  Gaehelein,  Supt. 
E-  F.  Stkoeter,  Sec'y. 

128  Second  !="treet,  New  York  Lity. 


Copyright,  1898, 
Bv  Rev.  Nathaniel  West,  D.D. 


Three  errors  there  arc  that  forever  are  found 
On  the  lips  of  the  good,  on  the  hps  of  the  best; 

But  empty  their  meaning,  and  hollow  their  sound, 
And  slight  is  the  comfort  they  bring  to  the  breast. 

So  long  as  man  dreams  of  a  time  in  this  age. 

When  the  Right  and  the  Good  will  all  evil  subdue; 
For  the  Riglit  and  the  Good  war  ever  will  wage, 

And  ever  will  Evil  the  conflict  renew. 

So  long  as  men  hope  that  Mammon  will  live 
Like  a  bride  with  her  lover,  united  to  worth; 

For  her  favor,  alas,  to  the  mean  she  will  give. 
And  Virtue  possesses  no  title  tu  earth. 

So  long  as  man  thinks  that  to  mortals  a  gift, 
The  Truth,  in  her  fulness  of  glory  will  shine; 

For  the  vail  of  the  goddess  no  mortal  may  lift. 
And  all  that  men  do  is  to  guess  and  divine. 

Schiller. 


iA) 


PREFACE. 

The  Book  of  Daniel  was  written  tu  i)rcfigure,  in  outline,  the 
course  of  history  from  the  Babylonian  exile  to  the  second 
coming  of  Christ,  and  to  reveal  the  age  of  millennial  glory 
"underneath  all  heavens,"  following  that  event.  It,  therefore, 
exhibits  the  character  of  our  own  times,  as  part  of  the  "Times 
of  the  Gentiles,"  which  is  really  the  title  of  the  whole  book. 
As  in  the  prophet's  day  so  in  oin's  the  kingdom  of  (jod  is  in 
conflict  with  the  kingdoms  ot  the  world;  and,  as  in  our  Lord's 
day,  is  assaulted  by  all  the  forces  of  evil,  the  assailants  seeking 
to  snatch  it  away  b}-  violence.  A  contemplation  of  both  civil 
and  ecclesiastical  events,  during  the  past  five  years — not  to 
speak  of  the  whole  century — only  confirms  the  truth  that  the 
same  policies  that  governed  the  empires  and  religious  estab- 
lishments of  the  ancient  world,  in  their  official  life,  and  con- 
tintiously  since  the  introduction  of  Christianity,  exist  in  our 
own  day,  and  demonstrates  the  fact,  made  clear  in  Daniel's 
pages  as  elsewhere  in  both  Testaments,  that  the  W'orld-l'ower 
remains  essentially  unchanged,  notwithstanding  its  nominal 
profession  of  Lhristianiry,  and  will  do  so  till  overthrown  by 
the  coming  of  the  Son  of  Man. 

It  was  a  consitleration  of  the  events  current  in  our  own  day, 
and  viewed  in  the  light  of  the  "sure  word  of  prophecy,"  that 
induced  the  writer,  though  in  the  midst  of  nuich  mental  and 
physical  suffering,  to  gather  up  some  results  of  his  past  labors, 
and  with  the  impressions  received  from  recent  events  present 
them  in  a  series  of  articles,  to  the  editors  of  "  Our  Hope,"  who 
generously  allowed  space  for  their  publication  in  the  Monthly, 
devoted  to  the  movement  in  behalf  of  Israel,  not  alone  in  Xew 
York,  but  in  both  hemispheres.  That  movement,  based  upon 
the  recognition  of  the  fact  that  the  di\-inely  established  dis- 
tinction between  Jews  and  Gentiles,  nationally,  is  a  standing 
one  in  the  New  as  well  as  Old  Testament  history;  that  there 

(5) 


6  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

is  yet  a  glorious  future  for  the  ancient  people  of  God;  and  that 
the  turning  of  Israel  to  their  own  Messiah. "even  Jesus,"  strikes 
the  hour  of  His  appearing  to  them,  and  brings  the  emancipa- 
tion of  the  nations  from  the  politics  and  power  that  now  en- 
thral them,  meets  my  decided  approbation  as  it  wins  my  heart- 
iest sympathy.  To  enlist  a  deepened  interest  in  an  enterprise 
so  worthy  of  support,  and  so  ably  conducted  by  the  scholarly 
and  self-denying  editors  of  "  Our  Hope,"  and  encourage  the 
study  of  Daniel's  book  in  its  relations  to  Israel,  the  nations, 
and  the  kingdom  of  God,  also  led  to  the  exposition  of  the 
prophecies  here  given,  and  the  ofifer  of  them  to  the  Monthly 
just  named.  A  general  desire  on  the  part  of  the  readers,  to 
see  the  exposition  in  book  form,  is  the  reason  of  the  present 
volume. 

The  book  of  Daniel  consists  o?'  twelve  chapters — as  we  have 
it — of  which  five  are  historical,  viz.,  i.,  iii.,  iv.,  v.,  vi.,  and  seven 
are  prophetical,  viz.,  ii..  vii.,  viii.,  ix,,  x.-xii.,  each  a  distinct 
prophecy,  yet  all  organically  one.  It  is  with  the  prophetical 
part,  alone,  the  exposition  has  to  do;  and  the  object  has  been, 
not  to  give  the  tedious  and  oftentimes  painful  processes  con- 
nected with  the  study  of  the  text — a  thing  impossible  in  a 
space  so  brief,  and  withal  uninteresting  to  the  majority  of 
readers — but  the  results  of  the  processes,  in  a  popular  and  in- 
telligible way,  and  so  assist  the  understanding  of  the  prophetic 
contents  scope  and  aim  of  the  book,  and  its  relation  to  all 
prophecy.  These  predictions  set  forth,  by  means  of  sym- 
bols and  their  interpretation,  the  political  and  religious  strug- 
gles of  the  Jews  with  the  empires  of  the  world,  and  the  outcome 
for  both,  in  greater  clearness,  definiteness  and  unity,  than  are 
seen  in  all  other  prophets.  They  were  designed  to  be  a  book 
of  comfort  and  hope  for  the  Jewish  people,  supporting  their 
Messianic  expectations,  and  also  a  warning  to  the  kingdoms 
of  the  world.  Their  scope  extends  beyond  the  times  of  Anti- 
ochus  Epiphanes,  B.C.  175-164,  and  beyond  the  times  of  Titus, 
A.  D.  70,  reaching  to  the  second  coming  of  Christ  and  the 
millennial  kingdom.  They  pertain  less  to  the  contemporaries 
of  the  prophet  than  to  the  generations  following.  They  span 
all  that  remained  of  the  Old  Testament  time,  and  the  whol^ 


PRErACE.  w 

New  Testament  also.  The  "Last  Things"  in  them  are  the  end 
of  our  age,  the  Antichrist,  the  great  tribulation,  the  second 
advent,  the  resurrection,  the  deliverance  of  Israel,  the  de- 
struction of  the  Antichrist,  the  judgment  of  the  living  nations, 
and  the  kingdom  of  God  in  victory.  These  are  called  the 
Eschata,  the  things  that  pertain  to  the  End  of  our  Age. 

The  amount  of  labor  done  in  the  critical  and  exegetical  study 
of  the  book  in  our  generation  has  been  very  great;  much  of  it 
virulent  and  unscientific.    The  defense  has  been  both  scientific 
and  triumphant.     It  is  impossible  to  give  even  a  summary 
of  the  bibliography.    The  writer  has  spared  no  pains  to  make 
himself  acquainted  with  the  latest  results  of  the  modern  criti- 
cism, as  far  down  as  to  1897,  including  the  polychrome  edition 
of  Daniel  by  Professor  Kamphausen,  and  his  formal  attack 
upon  the  book,  previously  issued.     It  is  a  comfort  to  know 
that  the  book  still  remains  an  anvil  on  which  all  hammers  are 
shattered.     We  may  admit  a  Maccabean  editorship,  without 
any  difficulty,  even  as  we  admit  an  editorship  of  our  English 
Bible.     This  is  very  remote  from  saying  that  the  book  is  a 
Maccabean  composition,  or  half  and  half  so.     In  the  light  of 
all  criticism,  we  still  agree  with  Hengstenberg  that  "  to  refer  I 
the  composition  of  the  book  to  Maccabean  times  will  remain  \ 
false  so  long  as  God's  word  remains  true;  therefore,  to  all 
eternity."     And  with  Sir  Isaac  Newton  we  can  say  that  "  to 
reject  Daniel's  prophecies  is  to  reject  the  Christian  religion;  l 
for  this  religion  is  founded  on  his  prophecy  concerning  Christ,"  | 
a  statement  ridiculed  by  Dean  Farrar  who  first  distorts  the 
words  of  Newton,  then  holds  them  up  to  false  construction 
and  rebuke.     And  we  can  repeat  with  approval  the  words  of 
Pusey  that  "  the  book  of  Daniel  is  especially  fitted  to  be  a 
battlefield  between  faith  and  unbelief,"  and  that  "  the  book! 
is  either  divine  or  an  imposture,"  no  middle  ground  possible.  I 
And  self-commending  are  the  recent  words  of  Rupprecht,  to 
any  unprejudiced  mind  familiar  with  the  criticism,  "  The  mod- 
ern criticism  of  Daniel's  book  is,  in  its  spirit,  un-Christian, 
immoral,  and  unscientific."    The  "advanced  knowledge  of  the 
book,"  as  professed  by  such  writers  as  Kuenen,  Wellhausen, 
Kamphausen,  and  Cornill,  or  even  by  a  Bevan  and  Behrmann 
still  later,  and  imitated,  second-hand,  by  Farrar,  leaves  un- 


8  DANIEL^   GREAT  PROFHECV. 

toviched  the  solid  learning  and  arguments  of  an  Auberlcrt. 
Keil,  Volck,  Wolf,  Caspari,  Orelli,  Oswald,  Pusey,  Tregcllcs, 
and  later  still,  of  a  Tiefenthal,  Herzfeld,  D'Envieu,  Dornstettcr, 
Diisterwald,  Atzbcrgcr.  and  others,  of  like  mature  judgment 
and  profound  attainments.  Unless  the  book  of  Daniel  is  gen- 
uine and  authentic,  the  whole  New  Testament  eschatology 
falls  to  the  ground.  For,  as  Westcott  has  well  said,  "  No 
I  writing  of  the  Old  Testament  had  so  great  an  influence  in  the 
development  of  Christianity  as  the  book  of  Daniel,"  and  even 
Cornill  is  obliged  to  confess  that  "hardly  another  Biblical  book 
has  exercised  so  controlling  a  power  over  all  subsequent  time, 
and,  to-day,  we  still  stand  under  the  influence  of  ideas  and 
views  which  the  book  of  Daniel  was  the  first  to  throw  into 
the  development  of  the  religion  of  Israel;"  he  might  have  also 
said,  "of  the  religion  of  Christ!  " 

It  is  customary  to  appeal  to  the  fact  that  certain  evangelical 
scholars,  like  Delitzsch,  Kahnis,  and  others,  have  conceded 
to  the  critics  the  Maccabean  origin  of  the  book  of  Daniel,  or 
at  least  a  portion  of  it.  The  appeal  is  worthless.  Jerome 
tells  us  "  the  whole  church  woke  up  in  the  fourth  century  to 
find  itself  Arian."  The  Middle  Age  found  it  Papal.  In  the 
last  century  Oxford  and  Cambridge,  Berlin  and  Heidelberg, 
were  chief  nurseries  of  Deism  and  Rationalism.  England, 
France  and  Germany  assailed  the  Word  of  God  on  every  side. 
And  as  for  our  own  times,  it  was  Delitzsch.  who,  notwithstand- 
ing his  concessions,  denounced  the  Higher  Criticism  as  "Bible- 
hating,  history-manufacturing  sciaice.''  Even  a  Hitzig  called 
it  "  an  abomination  of  desolation."  Gess,  conceding  the  Alac- 
cabean  origin  of  Daniel's  book,  yet  adds,  "  It  is  impossible  to 
excuse  the  writer  of  it  from  the  charge  of  pious  fraud." 
Kuenen,  the  master-mind  of  all  the  critics,  when  approaching 
death,  ordered  the  supnrcssion  of  every  unsold  copy  of  his 
greatest  work,  and  the  reimbursement  of  his  publishers  from 
his  estate.  At  the  close  of  a  long  life  of  critical  labor,  De 
Wette,  a  leading  spirit  in  Ids  day    could  say  ill  sadness, 

"  I  lived  in  times  of  doubt  and  strife, 

When  child-like  faith  was  forced  to  yield, 
I  struggled  to  the  end  of  life, 
Alas,  I  could  not  gain  the  field!" 


PREFACE.  0 

But  there  are  scholars,  as  well  as  scholars,  whose  words  ar6 
not  to  be  set  aside  by  the  sneers  of  second-hand  imitators  of 
unbelieving  criticism.  It  is  Kaulen  who  testifies,  "  After  the 
most  thorough  investigation  I  am  certain  that  the  writer  of 
the  Book  of  Daniel  shows  a  most  intimate  personal  acquaint- 
ance with  the  palace  of  Nebuchadnezzar  and  the  affairs  of  the 
Babylonian  court  and  empire,  and  that  the  book  was  wa"itten 
in  the  time  of  the  exile."  In  like  manner  Lenormant:  "The 
more  I  read  and  reread  the  Book  of  Daniel,  the  more  I  am 
struck  with  the  truth  of  the  tableau  of  the  Babylonian  court 
traced  in  the  first  six  chapters,  and  of  the  ideas  special  to  the 
time  of  Nebuchadnezzar.  Whoever  is  not  the  slave  of  precon- 
ceived opinions,  denying  the  supernatural,  must  confess  when 
comparing  the  chapters  with  the  cuneiform  monuments,  that 
they  are  really  ancient,  and  written  at  but  short  distance  from 
the  events  themselves."  And  as  to  the  prophetical  part,  the 
words  of  Diisterwald  state  the  simple  truth  concerning  the 
false  criticism.  "  The  foregone  denial  of  the  supernatural — 
that  is,  of  God  in  prophecy — underlies  every  denial  of  the 
genuineness  and  authenticity  of  these  predictions.  Once 
admit  that  ii.,  viii.  and  ix.  reach  beyond  Antiochus  Epiphanes 
and  into  Roman  times,  then  it  is  not  possible  to  deny  the  super- 
natural, or  that  here  is  true  prediction  of  remote  events. 
That  our  Lord  and  His  apostles  so  interpreted  these  pro- 
phecies admits  of  no  doubt.  When,  therefore,  the  opposers 
of  their  genuineness  and  authenticity  assail  these  predictions 
as  apocryphal,  for  the  sake  of  maintaining  their  working  rule, 
we  can  reply  to  them  that  solely  in  the  interest  of  their  science 
they  assail  Christ  Himself,  and  usurp  His  place  as  the  in- 
terpreter of  prophecy  and  the  heaven-sent  Teacher  of  the 
Church."  We  need  not  fear.  The  Book  of  Daniel  has  sur- 
vived every  attack  upon  it  for  two  thousand  years,  and  will 
to  the  end.  "  The  violence  of  modern  criticism,"  says 
D'EnvIeu,  "  has  only  reproduced,  under  the  show  of  learned 
strategy,  the  old  assaults  in  the  first  years  of  our  Christian 
Era." 

In  a  few  pages,  the  results  of  a  study  of  the  difificult  problem 
of  the  "  Seventy  Weeks,"  are  given.     Since  the  publication  of 


lO  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

t 
my  work,  "  Studies  in  Eschatology,"  the  whole  subject  has 
been  reviewed  in  the  Hght  of  voUimes  not  then  accessible. 
The  whole  history  of  their  interpretation  has  been  carefully 
gone  over,  from  200  years  before  Christ  to  the  present  time; 
(i)  the  pre-Christian  period,  ending  with  our  Lord's  Olivet 
discourse,  A.  D.  33;  (2)  the  period  of  the  first  two  Christian 
centuries,  including  both  Jewish  and  Christian  interpretation, 
ending  A.  D.  190;  (3)  thence  to  the  close  oi  the  fifth  century, 
A.  D.  490,  from  Clemens  Alexandrinus  to  Ammonius;  (4)  the 
middle-age  period  to  A.  D.  1250,  from  Severus  to  Aquinas;  (5) 
thence  to  the  sixteenth  century,  or  reformation  times;  (6) 
thence  to  the  present  time.  The  independent  conclusions, 
previously  reached,  have  all  been  confirmed.  In  this  vast  field 
of  inquiry  nothing  has  been  left  undone  by  Reusch  whO'  has 
given  the  Patristic  interpretations,  or  by  Calovius  who  has 
given  the  Mediaeval, or  by  Rohling  who  has  given  the  Modern, 
or  by  Fraidi  who  has  reviewed  carefully  all  these  labors,  or  by 
\  D'Envieu  who  has  supplemented  them.  Time  has  added  noth- 
ing, not  even  through  the  Higher  Criticism,  beyond  what  the 
ingenuity  of  men  devised  during  the  first  four  centuries.  In 
general  the  four  categories  into  which  the  various  interpret- 
ations fall  are  (i)  that  Messiah  appeared  within  the  seventy 
weeks,  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  A.  D.  70,  being  the  end 
of  the  70th  week;  (2) that  Messiah  appeared  near  the  end  of  the 
69th  week,  and  was  cut  off  in  the  middle  of  the  70th,  the  end 
of  the  70th  being  the  transition  of  the  gospel  to  the  Gentiles; 
(3)  that  the  two  Little  Horns  are  the  same,  and  the  seventy 
weeks  ended  with  the  times  of  Antiochus,  B.  C.  164,  a  view 
most  vigorously  repelled  by  the  church;  (4)  that  the  Messiah 
appeared  at  the  end  of  the  69th  week,  that  the  interval  of  the 
Roman  times  of  the  Gentiles  lies  between  the  69th  and  70th 
weeks,  and  that  the  seventieth  week  is  the  last — Antichrist's 
-week — a  view  held  by  the  ablest  exegetes  of  the  first  three 
centuries.  Delightful  is  the  view  held  by  Raymund  Martini, 
A.  D.  1350,  and  by  Solomon  Levy,  "a  born  Jew."  that  "Prince 
Messiah"  is  not  Cyrus,  nor  is  "  Messiah  cut  ofif  "  Onias  III., 
but  that  "  Gabriel  to  Daniel,  and  Gabriel  to  Mary,  prophesied 
of  the  same  Messiah,  even  Jesus  Christ;"  that  Daniel,  influ- 


PREFACE.  t! 

enced  by  the  Messianic  hope  and  dehverance  of  Israel  which 
Isaiah  seemed  to  connect  with  the  return  from  Babylon,  sup- 
posed the  time  of  the  hope  might  be  at  the  close  of  "Jeremiah's 
seventy  years,"  and  that,  as  Gabriel  had  already  in  vii.  fixed 
the  time  of  the  second  advent,  so  did  he  fix  the  time  of  the  first 
in  ix.,  and  led  the  prophet  to  look  out  into  the  "  Times  of  the 
Gentiles"  to  find  both  advents;  and  specially  that  Messiah  must 
come  between  the  completion  of  the  second  temple  and  its 
destruction  by  Titus. 

The  one  satisfactory  result  of  the  whole  study  has  been  to 
see  how  certainly  the  ablest  church  exegetes,  in  early  times, 
contended,  and  successfully,  that  the  70th  week  is  the  Anti- 
christ's week,  at  the  end  of  the  "  Times  of  the  Gentiles."  The 
Interval  between  the  third  and  fourth  weeks  was  hidden  from 
their  eyes,  and  has  remained  undetected  till  the  present  time. 

No  apology  is  needed  for  another  work  on  the  book  of 
Daniel,  nor  ever  will  be.  I  hold  it  to  be  unassailable  that 
our  Lord  had  the  whole  book  of  Daniel,  and  especially  the 
vision  of  judgment,  at  His  second  coming,  Dan.  vii.,  directly 
in  His  mind  when  He  uttered  His  great  Olivet  discourse  con- 
cerning the  end.  And  I  hold  to  be  indisputable  by  any  mind 
not  warped  by  false  criticism,  that  the  oracle  in  Dan.  xii:  4,  8, 
foretelling  the  study  of  Daniel's  book  in  the  "  Time  of  the 
End,"  refers  not  only  to  its  study  in  Maccabean  times,  B.  C. 
168  to  164,  at  the  end  of  the  third  prophetic  empire,  but  to  the 
"  Time  of  the  End  "  of  the  fourth,  in  its  divided  state,  i.e.,  to 
our  own  times  and  the  immediate  future.  That  oracle  belongs 
to  the  great  concluding  prophecy  in  x.-xii.  concerning  the 
"  Warfare  Great,"  whose  climax  is  the  solution  of  the  "  East- 
ern Question."  And  because  this  concluding  prophecy,  x.-xii., 
is  but  the  expansion  of  what  is  given  in  the  closing  part  of  ix., 
it  involves  the  study  of  the  "  70th  week,"  therefore  of  the  "  70 
weeks;"  and  since  x.-xii.  is  again  but  the  expansion  of  what 
is  given  in  viii.,  as  viii.  is  the  expansion  of  vii.  and  ii.,  there- 
fore the  oracle,  xii:  4,  8,  predicts  the  intense  study  of  Daniel's 
whole  book,  and  the  understanding  of  it,  as  a  sign  of  the  end 
of  our  age.  This  renders  all  apology  for  such  study  unneces- 
sary and  justifies  the  interest  felt  to-day  in  Israel's  destiny, 
and  its  relation  to  the  victory  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ, 


12  DANIEVS  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

In  order  to  keep  the  unity  and  aim  of  the  book  before  the 
mind  of  the  reader,  the  exposition  is  woven  around  the  central 
theme  of  the  book,  viz.,  that  the  kingdom  foretokl  h\  the 
prophet  cannot  come  to  victory  "underneath  all  heavens," 
until  the  second  coming  of  the  Son  of  Man.  A  further  help  to 
enable  the  reader  to  grasp  the  contents  of  the  prophecies  is 
to  remember  that  all  the  matter  of  the  predicted  history  falls 
under  these  seven  rubrics — the  Jews,  the  Four  Empires,  the 
Two  Little  Horns,  the  Seventy  Weeks,  the  Warfare  Great, 
the  Messiah  at  both  Advents,  the  Kingdom. 
I  As  to  the  study  oi  the  Jews,  the  histories  by  Edersheim, 
Milman,  Adams,  and  Josephus,  Stanley's  Jewish_Church,  the 
booksoTtheMaccabees,  Conder's  Judas  Maccabeus, and  Latin 
Kingdom  of  Jerusalem,  Besant  and  Palmer's  History  of  Jeru- 
salem, and  Le  Strange's  Palestine  under  the  INIoslems,  will 
be  found  all-sufficient.  As  to  the  four  empires,  Rawlinson's 
Seven  Great  Monarchies,  and  his  Herodotus,  with  Flint's,  and 
Hegel's  Philosophy  of  History,  and  Cox's  Syria  and  Egypt, 
tell  all  that  is  needed.  As  to  the  chronology,  Clinton's  Fasti 
Hellenici  still  holds  its  place  as  authority.  As  to  the  geo- 
graphy of  the  book  of  Daniel,  the  Ancient  Atlases  by  Kiepert, 
and  Kampen,  give  all  the  four  empires,  the  Diadochian  king- 
doms, and  spread  in  full  the  storm  centre  of  the  Eastern 
Question.  A  summary  of  universal  history,  crowded  with 
dates  and  events,  and  unsurpassed  for  accuracy,  is  provided 
by  Pl?etz,  eleventh  edition,  and  is  the  leading  text-book  in 
all  the  German  gymnasia. 

A  late  writer  of  much  ability,  dismayed  at  the  aspect  of 
Christendom,  and  little  anxious  as  to  the  inspiration  of  God's 
Word,  or  the  old  faith,  proposes  th.e  doctrine  of  "our  spiritual 
conceptions."  and  of  "evolution  spiritually."  as  the  quickest 
way  to  bring  in  the  golden  age  and  the  triumph  of  the  king- 
dom of  God.  Hypothetically,  he  says.  "  If  the  world,  the 
flesh,  and  the  devil  are  at  war  with  righteousness,  once  for 
all,  that  we  must  look  to  convulsive  overthrow  for  its  estab- 
lishment— to  some  millennial  transition  waited  for  so  long  in 
vain,  and  hidden  so  thoroughly  out  of  sight  in  the  events 
around    us."      Again.    "  No    matter    how    many    convulsive 


PREFACE. 


13 


chang^es  and  millenniums  religion  may  promise  itself,  we  see 
that  they  do  not  come.  Our  Christian  faith,  amid  all  its  pro- 
phetic gleams,  has  traveled  a  weary  way  in  which  nothing 
has  been  gained  save  in  the  slowest  manner."  If  this  is  not 
"pessimism,"  it  is  hard  to  tell  what  is.  The  statement  is  histor- 
ically untrue.  The  rapid  extension  of  Christianity  in  the  early 
ages  is  one  of  the  best  established  facts  of  history.  The  rapid 
extension  of  missions  since  the  close  of  the  last  century,  and 
of  the  translation  of  the  Bible  into  almost  all  languages,  are 
not  less  so.  And  as  to  "spiritual  evolution"  in  the  "scientific 
sense,"  the  gradualism  of  a  Darwin,  Lyell,  Huxley,  and 
Spencer,  repudiating  all  catastrophe  and  cataclysm,  what  else 
but  "slowness"  is  the  progress  through  interminable  stages? 
The  whole  "pessimism"  rests  on  the  denial  of  miraculous  in- 
tervention which  accomplishes  more  in  one  hour  than  preced- 
ing centuries  could  achieve.  It  is  precisely  by  means  of  "con- 
vulsive overthrow,"  after  long  yet  imperfect  development, 
the  kingdom  of  God  comes  to  victory.  Nowhere  has  the 
Scripture  assigned  to  the  church  universal  triumph  in  this 
age,  before  the  Lord  comes.  On  the  contrary,  the  law  of] 
apostasy  and  degeneration  runs  parallel  with  the  law  of  ad-l 
vance,  and  only  by  "convulsive  overthrow,"  in  the  final  crisis,/ 
is  the  antagonism  solved.  Such  is  the  Bible  teaching.  The 
apostle  Peter  has  discussed  and  determined  conclusively  the 
whole  question  in  2  Pet.  iii:  2-15.  For  a  teacher  of  the  truth 
to  be  oblivious  of  this,  is  a  calamity  as  great  as  for  a  minister 
of  state  not  to  know  the  constitution  of  his  country. 

To  one  point  I  desire  to  call  special  attention.  It  is  remark- 
able how  the  critics  and  the  commentators  have  failed  to  see 
that  by  the  words,  "the  Scripture  of  truth,"  Dan.  x:  i,  is  meant 
nothing  less  than  Daniel's  book,  and  not  the  unwritten  book 
of  "  God's  providence,"  or  of  the  "  divine  decrees,"  or  the 
"  Old  Testament."  Orthodox  xnterpreters  have  been  blinded 
here,  and  every  sharp-sighted  :ritic,  without  exception,  per- 
sistently evades  the  true  interpretation,  aware  of  its  destruct- 
ive force  against  the  false  theory  of  the  book  if  once  the  fact 
is  admitted.  The  admission  of  that  fact  forces  the  alternatives, 
either  the  writer  of  the  book  of  Daniel  was  a  guilty  forger, 
whose  crime  can  never  be  excused  by  "  th?  rntfom  of  his 
times,"  or  Daniel,  the  prophet  of  the  exile,  was  its  author. 


14  DANIEVS  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

The  chapters  on  the  Type  and  Antitype,  the  Transition- 
Section,  the  Great  Interval,  in  xi:  39,  40,  the  Antichrist's  Last 
Campaign,  and  the  concluding  Summation — not  published  in 
"  Our  Hope"  for  want  of  space — appear  in  the  present  volume. 
Some  sections,  also,  omitted  from  the  other  chapters  for  want 
of  space,  are  here  supplied. 

This  little  volume  is  sent  forth  with  the  earnest  prayer  that 
God  will  bless  the  "  Truth"  of  Daniel's  book  to  the  souls  of 
all  the  "  Wise  "  who,  as  the  "  Time  of  the  End  "  draws  near, 
will  study  it  with  diligence,  and  find  it  a  light  to  their  under- 
standing and  a  bulwark  to  their  faith  and  hope.  It  is  well  to 
remember  that  the  kingdom  of  God  is  battling  still  with  the 
"  Ten-horned  Beast,"  whose  head  was  wounded  by  advancing 
Christianity,  but  whose  wound  is  now  being  healed  by  its 
social  and  political  de-christianization.  With  Israel's  recovery 
the  Gentile  dominion  passes  away.    The  Beast  dies. 

May  the  prophet's  word  be  a  stimulus  to  work  and  pray  for 
Israel's  conversion  and  restoration,  and  the  hastening  of  that 
day  when,  through  "convulsive  overthrow,"  an  "  End  "  will 
be  put  to  the  Gentile  politics  and  power  that  disgrace  our 
present  age!  May  the  "  Kingdom"  soon  come  in  victory,  and 
God's  will  "  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaevn!" 

Nathaniel  West. 

Clifton  Springs,  March,  1898. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


Chapter  I. 
General    Introduction. —  Character  of  the  Book  of  Daniel; 
World-Power;  Scope  of  the  Book;  Daniel's  Mission;  Char- 
acter of  Daniel;  The  Thesis. 

Chapter  II.     ■ 

Daniel,  Chapter  II. —  Israel's  Place  in  History;  Babylon's 
Place;  The  Fundamental  Prophecy;  Law  of  Prophecy; 
The  Colossus;  Impact  of  the  Stone;  Rationalism;  "The 
Days  of  those  Kings;  "  The  Rolling  Stoiie;  False  Interpre- 
tation; The  True;  Honor  to  Daniel  and  Glory  to  God. 

Chapter  III. 

Daniel,  Chapter  VII. —  Critical  Question;  Vision  of  the  Four 
Beasts;  The  Fourth  Beast  and  its  Horns;  The  Little  Horn; 
Vision  of  the  Judgment  of  the  Horn  and  the  Nations;  An- 
cient of  Days;  Son  of  Man;  Overthrow  of  Kingdoms  and 
Sultanates;  Chiliasm;  The  Kingdom  given  to  the  Saints; 
Time  of  the  Judgment,  Place  of  the  Judgment;  The  Ten 
Horns;  The  Criminality  of  modern  World-Powers;  Their 
Doom. 

Chapter  IV. 

Daniel,  Chapter  VII.,  continued. —  The  Little  Horn;  His 
Names,  The  Great  Tribulation;  Witness-bearing;  The 
Ancient  of  Days;  The  Judges  in  the  Judgment;  Angels; 
Books  Opened;  Complete  Retribution;  The  Son  of  Man; 
Effort  to  evade  the  Chiliastic  Doctrine  of  the  Book;  The 
Monarch  of  the  Fifth  Empire;  The  Kingdom  and  the  People 
of  the  Saints. 

Chapter  V. 

Daniel,  Chapter  VIII.— "  Time  of  the  End"  of  the  Third 

(15) 


l6  DANIELS  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

Empire;  The  Kingdom  not  mentioned;  Date  of  the  Vision; 
Place  of  the  Vision;  The  Vision  itself;  The  Eastern  Ques- 
tion; The  Ram  and  Rough  Goat;  Cyrus  and  Alexander; 
Antio'chus  Epiphanes;  Vision  of  Horror  at  Jerusalem;  An- 
gelic Dialogue;  Apparition  of  a  Man;  The  2300  Evening- 
mornings;  Interpretation  of  the  \'ision;  Time  of  Fulfill- 
ment; \'ain  Efforts  to  identify  the  two  Little  Horns;  Sim- 
ilarities and  Dissimilarities;  Grounds  of  the  same;  Purpose 
of  the  Vision. 

Chapter  VL 

Daniel,  Chapter  IX. — The  Seventy  Weeks;  General  Remarks; 
Place  of  the  Prophecy;  Occasion  of  it;  The  Prophecy  itself; 
Its  correct  Translation;  Covers  the  Prayer;  Exposition  of 
the  Seventy  Weeks;  Their  Sub-distribution;  The  two  In- 
tervals; No  Year-day  Theory  in  Daniel;  The  Seventieth 
Week;  The  Four  Great  Ideas  of  World-view,  World-history, 
World-judgment  and  World-chronology;  The  Interpretation 
sure;  The  Secret  disclosed;  The  Reasons  of  the  False 
Interpretation;  The  Jews  as  Reckoners  of  Time;  Gentile 
Confirmation;  The  Jurisdiction  of  the  Seventy  Weeks  over 
all  New  Testament  Prophecy;  It  fixes  absolutely  the  Time- 
point  of  the  Second  Advent. 

Chapter  VII. 

Daniel,  Chapters  X.-XII. —  One  Prophecy:  The  Theme,  the 
"Warfare  Great;"  The  Eastern  Question;  Nature  of  the 
Revelation;  Date  of  the  Prophecy;  Place  and  Time  of  the 
Vision;  Occasion  of  the  Vision;  The  Vision  itself;  The 
Christophany ;  The  Persons  in  the  Scene;  The  Effect  of 
the  Vision;  Prostration  of  the  Prophet,  and  Flight  of  his 
Companions;  The  Recovery  of  the  Prophet;  The  Comfort; 
Israel  under  the  guardian  Care  of  Angels;  Daniel's  Book, 
a  "Scripture  of  Truth;"  Warning  against  the  false  Criti- 
cism of  this  Book. 

Chapter  VIII. 

Daniel,  Chapters  X.-XII.,  continued. — Chapter  xi.,  1-35. "Tsa- 
ba  Gadol,"  the  "  Warfare  Great;  "  The  Chapter  assailed  as  a 


CONTENTS.  17 

Spurious  Production;  Reply:  Geography  of  the  Prophecy; 
The  Eastern  Question;  Division  of  Chapter;  The  Persian 
Succession;  The  Greek;  The  Diadochian  Kingdoms;  Ptol- 
emies and  Seleucids;  The  Intervals  in  the  Prophecy;  Wars 
of  Syria  and  Egy^pt;  Antiochus  Epiphanes;  Campaigns 
against  Egypt;  Campaigns  against  Palestine;  The  Macca- 
bean  Tribulation;    The  Martyr-Roll. 

Chapter  IX. 

Daniel,  Chapters  X.-XI.,  continued. —  Chapter  xi.,  36-45: 
The  Transition-Section;  Various  \'iews;  True  View  of  the 
Type  and  Antitype;  Place  of  the  Great  Interval  between 
the  Ends  of  the  Third  and  Fourth  Empires;  Photograph 
of  the  Antichrist;  The  Antichrist's  last  Campaign,  and 
World's  Last  Battle;  "Time  of  the  End;"  The  Three 
Greater  Powers  in  the  Field;  Occupation  of  Egypt;  Inva- 
sion of  Palestine;  The  Great  Tribulation;  Michael  standing 
over  the  Jews;  Angelic  War  in  Heaven;  Universal  War  on 
Earth;  Joel's  Picture  of  the  Scene;  Zechariah's;  Isaiah's; 
John's;  The  Blood-Bath;  The  Preparation  of  the  Nations 
for  the  Struggle;  The  Military  Budgets  of  Russia,  Germany, 
Austria,  France,  Italy;  The  Causes;  The  "Ever-recurring 
Law;  "  The  Eastern  Question,  and  its  Solution. 

Chx\pter  X. 

Daniel,  Chapter  XII. —  Conclusion  of  the  Prophecy;  Defin- 
ition of  the  Time;  Intervention  of  Michael;  The  Great 
Tribulation;  The  Deliverance  of  the  Jews;  The  Resurrection 
of  the  Holy  Dead;  Splendor  of  the  Risen  Saints;  Life 
Everlasting;  Completion  and  Authentication  of  Daniel's 
Book;  Study  of  the  Book  in  the  "  Time  of  the  End;"  The 
Epilogue,  The  Higher  Criticism;  Perplexity  of  Daniel;  Its 
Solution;  First  Dismissal  of  the  Prophet  from  the  Scene; 
Extension  of  the  "  Time  of  the  End;  "  The  1290  and  1335 
Days;  The  Blessed  Time;  Second  Dismissal  of  the  Prophet; 
The  Promise  of  the  Prophet's  Resurrection;  Christ,  Glory, 
^Jie  Kingdom,  the  End — Our  Hope. 


DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 


Chapter  XL 


Summation,  Objections,  Conclusion;  General  Teaching  of 
Daniel's  Book;  The  Passing  away  of  all  Kingdoms  and 
Empires;  Resume  of  the  Main  Features  of  Daniel's  Book; 
The  Design  of  the  Judgment  of  the  Nations;  God's  Name 
Sanctified,  His  Will  done  on  Earth  as  in  Heaven;  Connec- 
tion between  Eschatology  and  the  Messiah-doctrine;  Ob- 
jections to  Daniel's  Doctrine;  Reply;  The  Sequence  of  the 
Kingdom  in  Victory  upon  the  Second  Advent;  Curiosities 
of  Opposite  View;  Character  of  the  Millennial  Kingdom; 
Reign  of  the  Saints  on  the  Earth;  Jerusalem  the  Centre  of 
the  New  Age;  Christ  present  in  His  glory;  The  Kingdom 
of  "  the  looo  years;  "  The  Vastness  of  the  Idea  of  the  King- 
dom; False  that  the  Kingdom  of  Christ  is  not  here  now; 
False  that  it  comes  to  victory  before  He  comes;  Science 
dem.ands  a  Millennial  Age;  Use  and  Abuse  of  Prophecy; 
Chiliasm  indestructible;  Testimony  of  the  Writer;  Parting 
with  the  Prophet. 


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('9) 


"  The  prophets  of  the  Old  Testament  in  a  marked  and  special 
manner  looked  forward  into  the  future.  They  personated  and  ex- 
pressed the  Hope  of  Israel  and  the  Kingdom  of  God.  Standing  on 
their  lofty  watch-towers,  and  looking  to  the  farthest  horizon,  they 
saw  events  unseen  by  ordinary  men,  and  spoke  of  things  to  come 
long  after  the  generations  they  served  had  passed  to  the  tombs.  They 
were  the  first  in  antiquity  to  perceive  that  the  old  East  was  dead. 
They  celebrated  its  obsequies  in  advance  of  the  dissolution  they  saw 
to  be  inevitable.  They  were  the  tragic  chorus  of  the  awful  drama 
that  was  unfolding  itself  in  the  Eastern  world.  As  kingdom  after 
kingdom  passed  away,  they  sang  the  funeral  dirge  of  each.  There 
can  be  no  question  that  the  book  of  Daniel,  containing  the  first  men- 
tion of  the  great  idea  of  the  succession  of  the  ages  and  of  the  growth 
of  empires  and  races,  is  the  first  outline  of  the  philosophy  of  history." 

Dean   Stanley. 


(20) 


DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 


Chapter  I. 


"  By  the  rivers  of  Babylon,  there  we  sat  down;  yea,  we  wept 
when  we  remembered  Zion.  We  hanged  our  harps  iipon  the 
willows  in  the  midst  thereof.  For  there  they  that  carried  us 
away  captive  required  of  us  a  song;  and  they  that  wasted  us 
required  of  us  mirth,  saying,  sing  us  one  of  the  songs  of  Zion! 
How  shall  we  sing  the  Lord's  song  in  a  strange  land?  If  I 
forget  thee,  O  Jerusalem,  let  my  right  hand  forget  her  cun- 
ning! If  I  do  not  remember  thee,  let  my  tongue  cleave  to  the 
roof  of  my  mouth,  if  I  prefer  not  Jerusalem  above  my  chief 
joy!"  Fsalm  cxxxvii:  i-6.  Such  is  the  pathetic  lamentation 
of  a  sweet  but  sorrow-smitten  minstrel  of  Israel,  expert  in  song 
and  skilful  with  the  harp  telling  the  grief  of  his  people  in  the 
hour  of  their  humiliation.  The  holy  temple,  the  sanctuary  of 
God  and  central  shrine  of  Israel's  worship,  had  disappeared  in 
flame  and  smoke.  Divine  judgment  had  destroyed  the  "city  of 
the  Great  King."  The  temple  vessels,  and  the  people,  had  been 
borne  away  captive  into  Babylon  to  grace  the  triumph  of  a 
heathen  ruler.  The  instrument  in  God's  hand  for  the  execution 
of  this  judgment  was  Nebuchadnezzar,  the  crown-prince  of 
the  Chaldean  empire.  Three  times  he  came  as  a  conqueror 
and  took  Jerusalem;  the  first  time,  B.  C.  606,  deporting  Daniel 
and  his  companions;  the  second  time,  B.  C.  598,  Ezekiel  and  a 
larger  number;  the  third  time,  B.  C.  587,  burning  the  city, 
and  completing  the  captivity.  To  celebrate  the  anniversary 
of  his  conquest  and  the  consolidation  of  his  empire,  he  erected 
a  golden  image  of  himself  upon  the  plains  of  Dura,  summoned 
a  State  concert,  and  at  the  sound  of  his  royal  band  of  music, 
demanded  universal  homage  to  his  person,  on  pain  of  death 

(21 J 


22  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

for  refusal.  Seventy  years  the  Jews  were  delivered  to  the 
Chaldean  power.  At  such  a  time  the  Lord  raised  up  "  Daniel 
the  Prophet  "  to  foretell  the  course  and  doom  of  all  Gentile 
empires,  and  the  final  triumph  of  the  chosen  peoi)le  and  of  the 
kingdom  of  God,  In  connection  with  certain  miraculous 
events  of  his  time,  the  Book  of  Daniel  makes  known  to  us 
the  divine  communications  he  received,  unveiling  the  whole 
future  down  to  the  second  coming  of  Christ.  Its  religious  and 
polititcal  importance  are  recognized  by  all  the  world.  It  tells 
that  the  "  Lord's  song"  w^ill  first  be  sung  by  Israel  "  in  the 
land  of  Judah,"  when  Israel  has  returned  to  faith  in  Christ, 
and  all  Gentile  kingdoms  have  been  overthrown.  Isa.  xxv:  i; 
xxvi:  1-21;  Dan.  ii:  44;  vii:  13,  25-27. 

The  canonicity  and  inspiration  of  the  book  of  Daniel  are  es- 
tablished by  testimonies  more  numerous  and  varied  than  can 
be  claimed  for  any  other  sacred  writing.  They  come  from  the 
pens  of  inspired  prophets  and  historians,  and  from  the  whole 
body  of  Jewish  literature  subsequent  to  the  close  of  Old  Testa- 
ment prediction.  Chaldaean,  Persian,  Greek  and  Roman  au- 
thors have  confirmed  its  statements.  Centuries  have  verified 
its  prophecies.  The  lips  of  Christ,  Peter,  Paul,  John  and  the 
evangelists,  have  borne  witness  to  its  truth.  The  entire  New 
Testament  is  effulgent  with  its  eschatology.  The  early  church 
teachers,  with  rare  devotion,  applied  themselves  to  search  dil- 
igently and  understand  its  contents,  and  held  it  aloft  as  a  shin- 
ing proof  of  the  Christian  faith.  Schoolmen  and  reformers 
studied  it  with  deepest  interest.  Jews,  Christians  and  Moham- 
I  medans.  Catholics  and  Protestants  alike,  have  vied  with  each 
other  to  explore  its  mysteries.  From  B.  C.  534  to  A.  D.  1898, 
through  2,400  years,  more  than  ten  thousand  volumes  have 
been  written  as  a  tribute  to  its  worth  and  World-wide  signifi- 
cance, and,  in  our  generation,  the  monuments  of  Assyria, 
I'abylon,  Persia,  Armenia  and  Egypt,  have  united  to  do  it 
honor.  Holy  men  to-day  realize  the  fact  that  in  this  book  was 
concealed  a  sun  of  surpassing  brilliance,  whose  light  should 
l)urst  forth  in  the  "  Time  of  the  End  "  and  irradiate  with  its 
splendor  the  eyes  of  all  whose  blessedness  it  is  to  seek  it.  And 
yet,  no  book  of  the  Bible  is  more  distasteful  to  the  unbelieving 


INTRODI'CTORY.  o;3 

criticism  of  our  times,  nor  does  it  find  enemies  more  danger- 
ous than  many  who  profess  to  be  defenders  of  the  truth,  de- 
grading its  dignity  and  value  to  the  level  of  mere  apocryphal} 
production.     Its  ofifence  is  the  manifest  presence  of  the  super-| 
natural  in  every  page.     It  cVJaii'^  to  be  a  faithful  chronicle  o^ 
events  transcending  the  possibilitie.  of  all  ordinary  occurrence,' 
a  revelation  also    from    heaven,  and,  in    large    part,  a  word 
spoken  by  angels.    In  it  we  read  histories  the  most  marvelous, 
and  prophecies  wdiose    far-sightedness    outstrips    the    utmost 
reach  of  human  genius,  forecast  and  sagacity.     It  provides  the 
most  brilliant  confirmation  of  the  inspiration  of  the  prophets. 
It  discloses  the  only  true  philosophy  of  history,  unveils  a  pro- 
cession of  the  ages,  publishes  an  almanac  of  time  and  sets  be- 
fore us  a  moving  panorama  of  marching  empires  and  of  rising 
and  falling  kingdoms,  covering  already  nearly  2,500  years.    Itl 
foretells  a  hundred  events,  three-fourths  of  which  have  been) 
fulfilled.    It  supports  its  omniscient  predictions  by  omnipotent] 
deeds  placed  alongside  of  them  as  pledges  of  their  accomplish-! 
ment,  the  supernatural  in  the  one  case,  the  proof  of  it  in  the] 
other.     In  an  honest  mind  unswayed  by  prejudice  and  false 
science  it  compels  belief.       Its    grasp    is    the    grasp    of    the 
Almighty. 

Great  moral  and  dogmatic  truths  are  guaranteed  by  mira- 
cles speaking  to  the  eyes,  concerning  the  true  God,  the  true 
religion,  the  true  people  of  God,  and  the  world's  destiny,  con- 
fronting all  the  idolatries  of  the  nations.  Like  a  blazing  head- 
light cast  across  the  centuries  and  illuminating  the  whole  track 
of  time,  shines  the  announcement  that  human  history  is  the 
result  neither  of  chance  nor  fatality,  nor  of  man's  will  alone; 
that  the  events  of  nations  and  the  actions  of  men,  although 
the  product  of. their  own  free  will,  are  yet  pursuant  to  a  pre- 
determined plan  of  God,  Most  High,  who  "  removes  s.nd  sets 
up  kings,  gives  wisdom  to  the  wise  and  knowledge  to  them 
that  understand;  who  reveals  secrets,  knows  what  is  in  the 
darkness,  and  in  whom  light  dwells;"  that  history  has  an  ap- 
pointed goal  to  which  it  must  attain,  and  that  the  rise,  rule 
and  revolution  of  empires,  their  apogee,  decline  and  fall,  have 
already  been  decreed  and  recorded,  and  must  eventuate  ac- 


24  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

cording  to  tlie  will  of  God.  In  the  most  solemn  manner,  it 
emphasizes  the  truth  that  God,  j\Iost  High,  is  "  Governor 
among  the  nations,"  greater  than  Bel,  Nebo.  Istar  or  ^lero- 
dach,  or  all  the  gods  of  the  heathen,  a  Power  superior  to  all 
the  "  Powers,"  a  "  Power,  not  ourselves,  that  makes  for 
righteousness,"  and  walks  through  hist(jry:  that  while  reward- 
ing the  good  He  punishes  the  evil;  that  for  every  crime  com- 
mitted by  nations,  governments  or  men,  for  every  wrong 
abetted  or  inflicted,  for  every  unrighteous  deed,  for  every  pol- 
icy of  pride  and  greed,  of  selfishness,  oppression  of  the  poor 
and  the  weak,  for  every  indilTerence  to  distress,  for  every  act 
of  cruelty  and  ambitious  lust  of  territory,  wealth  and  suprem- 
acy, Justice  will  exact  a  righteous  retribution;  and  that  the  one 
consolation  left  to  sufiferers  amid  all  the  complications  that 
perplex  the  diplomacies  of  nations,  retard  the  relief  of  una- 
venged humanity,  and  try  the  patience  of  God's  children,  is 
the  deep  conviction  that  such  will  be  the  case. 

No  sublimer  moral  truth  ever  passed  the  lips  of  any  writer. 
What  the  Greek  tragedy  attributed  to  blind  '  Justice  "  stand- 
ing behind  every  scene,  and  to  "Necessity"  behind  Justice,  the 
prophet  describes  as  the  work  of  a  free,  intelligent  and  over- 
ruling Power,  "  God  Most  High,"  omnipotent  and  irresistible. 
Wickedness  may  seem  to  triumph  for  a  time,  and  the  prayer 
of  outraged  and  enslaved  communities  meet  only  disappoint- 
ment, but,  sooner  or  later,  judgment  must  strike  the  guilty. 

Nor  is  it  as  an  abstract  proposition  this  great  truth  is  as- 
serted, but  is  illustrated  as  a  concrete  fact  in  history,  by  the 
rise  and  fall  of  empires,  states  and  kingdoms,  on  whose  sepul- 
chres the  one  epitaph  stands  written,  "  Dead  for  Want  of 
RigJitcotisucssr'  That  is  the  lesson  of  the  book,  a  theodicy 
that  justifies  the  ways  of  God,  vindicates  His  long-suffering 
and  discipline.  His  last  destructive  stroke,  and  the  setting  up 
of  His  own  kingdom  where  the  "  will  "  of  God  shall  "  Ije  done 
on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven."  National  sin  must  be  punished, 
the  governments  of  earth  must  be  destroyed,  and  the  nations 
judged,  in  order  to  their  salvation.  Not  monarchs,  nor  em- 
pires, but  "  The  Heavens  do  ride!"  God  alone  is  the  ground 
of  the  universe,  and  His  righteousness,  truth,  mercy  and  holi- 


INTRODUCTORY.  2$ 

ness,  His  will  and  His  judgments,  are  the  establishment  of  His 
throne.  Alight  does  not  make  right,  but  the  nature  and  will 
of  God.  Right  is  not  the  enactment  of  the  State.  The 
maxims  of  expediency  and  selfish  interests  are  not  law.  The 
will  of  princes,  cabinets  and  counsellors  is  not  the  measure  of 
obligation.  The  right  of  rule  rests  not  on  human  conquests, 
nor  is  the  power  to  rule  the  creation  of  a  people.  God  alone 
is  the  ground  and  source  of  all.  Such  the  doctrine  and  the 
lesson  of  the  book. 

Among  the  things  that  excite  our  curiosity  and  arrest  our 
attention,  as  we  read  the  book,  are  the  metallurgy  and  zoology 
of  i^s_predictions,  representing  four  great  empires  in  succes- 
sion—two Oriental,  the  Babylonian  and  ]\Iedo-Persian;  two 
Occidental,- the  Grseco-AIacedoman  and  the  Roman.    The  rep- 
resentation is  made  first  by  means  of  specific  metals,  gold,  sil- 
ver, brass  and  iron,  mixed  with  clay;  next,  by  four  wild  beasts, 
the  lion,  bear,  leopard  and  an  untamed  ten-horned  monster,  or 
megatherium.    The  second  two  are  again  represented  by  two 
domestic  animals,  the  ram  and  rough  goat.    A  colossal  statue 
of  human  form,  bright  and  terrible,  its  head  gold,  iLs  feet  iron 
and  clay,  stands  erect  as  the  symbol  of  the  zvJiole  organized  po- 
litical pozvcr  of  the  world  in  unity,  including  its  various  govern- 
ments and  policy,  its  material  strength  built  upon  the  products 
of  the  mines,  its  laws  of  degeneration,  disintegration  and  divis- 
ion; in  short,  the    entire    development    of    the    world-power, 
through  a  succession  of  empires,  the  last  of  which  survives  in 
its  fragmentary  state  until  the  Lord  comes.    The  whole  sym- 
bol is  a  picture  lesson  and  divine  programme  of  the  world- 
power  advancing  systematically  and  organically   in   definite 
periods  of  time  to  a  goal  fixed  in  the  counsel  of  God,  that  goal 
the  absolute  destruction  of  all  Gentile  governments,  politics  and 
p^wer,  and  the  erection  of  the  kingdom  of  God  on  their  ruin.     The 
prophet  would  have  us  write  the  date  B.  C.  606  over  the  head 
of  the  statue,  and  the  second  coming  of  Christ;  the  "  Stone," 
at  the  end  of  its  toes.    During  the  time  between  these  dates  the 
Colossus  stands  unoverthrown,  and  on  prostrate  Israel's  breast 
the  Gentiles  exercising  the  sovereignty  of  the  whole  earth.    At 
the  end  of  the  times  of  the  Gentiles,  whose  length  is  that  of  the 


±'i  DANIELS  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

statue,  its  fate  is  to  be  struck  on  the  toes  by  the  Stone  from 
heaven,  the  mountain  of  God's  hohness,  grinchnj;^  the  statue  to 
powder,  the  wind  of  judgment  blowing  away  its  dust,  "like  the 
chaff  of  the  sunmicr  threshing  Hoor."  "  Sic  transit  gloria 
MiDidiy  The  C^od  of  heaven,  at  such  a  time,  sets  up  a  king- 
dom, the  fifth  in  succession,  unsuccecded  and  indestructible. 

As  to  the  inner  spirit,  essence,  nature  and  life  of  the  w^orld- 
power,  it  is  symbolized  by  that  of  the  four  predacious  beasts, 
whose  ethics  are  those  of  the  jungle,  viz.:  the  physically  "  fit- 
test to  survive,"  the  Rob  Roy  ethics  of 

'■'  The  simple  plan 

That  he  may  take  who  has  the  power, 

And  he  may  keep  who  can," 

the  motto  for  one  the  same  for  all,  "Arise,  devour  much  fiesh!" 
This  is  further  illustrated  by  the  action  of  the  two  domestic 
cornute  animals,  butting  and  rebutting  one  another.  The 
stronger  devour  the  weaker,  in  every  case  for  selfish  interests 
and  increase  of  power.  Governed  by  savage,  sensuous,  im- 
pure, sinful  and  brutal  impulses  and  passions,  it  perpetuates 
its  right  of  rule  over  man  by  military  violence,  plunging  horns, 
teeth  and  iron  heel,  into  every  tribe  or  people  that  opposes. 
In  short,  the  whole  world-power,  from  first  to  last,  is  constitu- 
tionally beastly  and  metallic,  and  continues  so  down  to  the  end 
of  its  existence,  and  this  notwithstanding  the  progress  of  the 
nations  \n  culture  and  civilization,  and  in  spite  of  every  influ- 
ence of  Christianity  upon  it.  It  cannot  be  otherwise,  for  sel- 
fishness and  jealousy  are  its  inner  principles.  Down  to  the 
end  of  Gentile  rule,  the  motives  and  the  policies  that  actuated 
Sennacherib,  Nebuchadnezzar,  Cyrus,  Alexander  and  Caesar — 
heathen  motives — are  the  back-lying  springs  of  action  that  will 
govern  the  whole  world-power,  and  every  form  of  it,  whether 
"  I  the  King  "  or  "We  the  people."  Never  can  the  religion  of 
Jesus  Christ  celebrate  a  universal  victory  under  the  whole 
heaven  until  the  heaven-descending  "Stone"  grinds  to  powder 
the  proud  Colossus,  and  the  Son  of  Man  annihilates  in  person 
the  last  anti-Christian  ruler.  The  life  of  all  the  first  three  beasts 
passes  into  the  fourth,  more  terrible  than  all  before  it,  even  in 


INTRODUCTORY.  27 

its  divided  ten-horned  state,  grim  with  iron  armament,  while 
among  these  separate  horns  and  kingdoms  an  eleventh  arises, 
plucking  up  a  "  Dreibund  "  in  its  way,  thus  himself  becoming 
"an  8th"  "stouter  than  his  fellows,"  acquiring  the  power  of  all 
the  rest,  anti-Christian  to  the  core,  the  persecutor  of  the  saints 
of  God,  and  bent  on  universal  empire.  That  is  the  last  picture 
of  our  modern  culture  and  so-called  Christian  civilization,  a 
picture  "  Modern  Progress  "  is  determined  not  to  believe,  but 
which  God  is  determined  it  shall  believe,  when  its  haughtiness 
is  laid  low,  its  loftiness  bowed  down,  and  its  books  of  sorcery, 
like  those  of  Diana-worshippers  at  Ephesus,  are  given  to  the 
flame.  The  fate  of  the  persecuting  Horn,  the  last  representa- 
tive of  Gentile  progress,  science  and  culture,  and  that  of  his 
kingdom,  and  of  the  whole  world-power,  is  destruction.  On 
their  grave  rises  in  beauty  and  glory,  the  kingdom  of  God. 

Wonderful  prediction  which  hatred  of  its  truth  makes  men 
deny,  and  refer  the  whole  to  the  dream  of  a  disappointed  Alac- 
cabean  Jew,  the  guilty  forger  of  the  book  in  Daniel's  name  400 
years  after  Daniel's  death!  Wonderful  beyond  imagination! 
The  prophet  traverses  the  march  of  w'orld  empires  and  king- 
doms from  his  own  time  to  the  end  of  our  present  age,  the  sec- 
ond coming  of  Christ.  He  foretells  the  conduct  of  the  world- 
power,  and  illustrates  its  madness  by  the  mania  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar and  the  doom  of  JJelshazzar.  Running  down  the  cen- 
turies he  introduces  us  to  Cyrus,  Cambyses,  Darius,  Xerxes, 
Artaxerxes,  to  Alexander  and  his  successors,  the  struggles  of 
Egypt  and  Syria  for  Palestine,  the  campaigns  of  Antiochus 
Epiphanes.  He  foretells  events  in  the  history  of  Berenice,  and 
of  Cleopatra,  the  mother  of  all  the  Cleopatras  and  sister  of  the 
Greek  Antichrist.  Pie  brings  us  to  the  rise  of  the  Roman  em- 
pire on  the  ruins  of  the  republic  in  Caesar's  time,  when  the 
"  dregs  of  Romulus  "  were  all  that  remained,  its  subsequent 
bipartition,  its  fragmentary  tenfold  state  still  later,  and  apart 
from  which  the  mediaeval  and  modern  history  of  Europe  is 
without  explanation.  He  exhibits  th.e  last  Antichrist,  and  his 
allied  powders,  as  the  summit  of  world-development.  By  a  law 
of  prophetic  retrogression,  he  returns  from  the  final  goal  to 
predict  the  birth  of  Christ,  His  death,  the  destruction  of  Jeru- 


28  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

salcni  and  its  temple  by  Titus,  the  desolation  of  the  land  and 
fate  of  the  Jews  during  the  sequent  times  of  the  Gentiles.  Ad- 
vancing again  to  the  end,  he  describes  in  brief  the  scenes  of 
the  last  seven  years  of  our  present  age,  the  Antichrist's  proper 
week.  Two  advents  of  Christ  he  predicts,  the  one  in  humilia- 
tion, the  other  m  glory.  He  forecasts  the  conflict  of  the  Jews 
with  the  world-power  along  the  whole  line  of  their  sad  disper- 
sion, the  final  triumph  of  the  former  and  the  total  rum  of  the 
latter  at  the  second  coming  of  Christ,  and  the  victory  of  the 
kingdom  of  Christ  over  all  the  earth,  when  One  mightier  than 
Cyrus  shall  bid  His  ancient  people  return  to  their  land,  and 
One  greater  than  all  the  Joshuas,  Zerrubbabels,  Ezras  and  Ne- 
hemiahs,  of  the  Old  Testament  shall  lead  them  back. 

As  to  the  mission  of  Daniel,  it  was,  in  many  respects,  hke 
that  of  Joseph  and  Aloses  at  the  court  of  Egypt,  and  again  like 
that  of  Paul  to  the  Gentiles.  He  was  a  "  chosen  vessel "'  or- 
dained of  God  to  bear  "  His  name  before  Gentiles  and  kings, 
and  the  children  of  Israel,"' — not  only  to  take  part  in  the  great 
events  of  the  Babylonian  and  Persian  empires,  but  to  represent 
in  person,  to  the  kings  who  ruled  them,  God's  ancient  people 
and  the  true  religion;  to  fortify  the  captives  by  miracles  and 
prophecies,  confound  the  heathen  wisdom  and  idolatry,  and 
maintain  the  truth  concerning  the  coming  Messiah  and  His 
Kingdom.  To  disobey  the  orders  of  the  court  with  absolute 
impunity,  and  yet  maintain  his  position  in  spite  of  the  king 
and  the  satraps,  to  defy  the  sword,  the  flame  and  the  lion's 
den,  and  compel  decrees  in  favor  of  "  God  ^lost  High,"  this 
was  the  privilege  of  the  prophet  and  his  three  companions. 
The  wise  men  of  the  world-power,  the  r^Iagi  of  the  East,  be- 
lieved that  they  alone  had  wisdom  and  had  derived  it  from 
their  gods,  whose  images  and  temples  towered  high  over  all 
heathendom.  The  powers  of  +he  world  believed  that  they 
acted  independently  of  Jehovah.  The  God  of  Israel,  for  them, 
was  no  more  than  Moloch  or  Astarte,  the  tribal  deity  of  no- 
mads, less  civilized  than  themselves — powers  who  imagined 
that  they  governed  the  world  according  to  their  will,  and  that 
the  future  was  in  the  hands  of  them  and  their  gods.  It  was 
Daniel's  mission  to  dissolve  this  delusion,  and  prove  to  them 


IXTRQDl'CTORV.  29 

that  they  were  but  instruments  in  the  hand  of  "  God  Most 
High,"  who  ruled  the  whole  course  of  history  according  to  His 
own  will,  that  the  whole  future  lay  before  Him  like  a  map  pre- 
pared by  His  own  hand,  and  that  He  who  knows  the  future 
must  be  the  Ordainer  and  Disposer  of  all  events,  a  Power 
personal,  intelligent,  all-wise,  holy,  and  the  Almighty  whom 
neither  the  kings  nor  the  nations  could  resist  without  punish- 
ment. It  was  in  the  mission  of  Daniel  to  humiliate,  shame, 
and  a"base  the  pride  of  all  world  wisdom  and  world  power, 
and  exalt  the  God  of  Israel.  By  such  means  could  he  prepare 
the  vast  peoples  of  the  Old  World  for  the  coming  of  Alessiah 
and  His  Kingdom,  and  break  into  pieces  the  confidence  they 
reposed  m  the  idols  of  their  worship.  By  such  means  he  in- 
troduced into  the  ancient  literature  those  Messianic  expect- 
ations which  foretold  the  overthrow  of  all  Gentile  religion, 
politics  and  power,  the  conversion  of  the  nations,  the  passing 
of  the  sovereignty  of  the  earth  to  the  people  of  God,  and  the 
fact  that  a  descendant  of  the  royal  line  of  David  would  one 
day  atone  for  the  world's  transgression,  and,  still  further,  pre- 
side over  the  restoration  of  Israel  out  of  all  lands  where  they 
had  been  scattered.  Thus  did  he  humble  the  pride  of  Babv- 
lonion  and  Persian  kings  and  reduce  to  shame  the  wisdom  of 
the  wise. 

Fhe  wonder  is  that  this  book  began  to  be  written  by  a  young 
man  eighteen  years  of  age,  a  captive  at  the  court  of  Babylon, 
and  hostage  for  the  good  behavior  of  the  vassal  king  of  Judah; 
a  youth  of  royal  blood  and  a  holy  celibate  for  the  kingdom's 
sake.  Before  he  reached  his  majority  he  reproduced  and  in- 
terpreted the  monarch's  dream,  and  because  of  his  piety,  learn- 
ing, genius  and  fear  of  God,  grew  to  become  the  prime-minis- 
ter and  master  of  the  magi  in  the  realms  of  Babylon  and  Per- 
sia. By  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates,  Ulai  and  Tigris,  he  talked 
with  angels  and  received  visions  from  God.  A  hundred  years 
he  lived  contemporary  with  the  kings  of  Assyria,  Babylon, 
]\Iedia,  Persia,  Greece  and  Rome,  and  the  last  four  kings  of 
Judah.  He  personally  knew  Jeremiah,  Ezekiel,  Joshua  the 
High  Priest,  and  Zerubbabel,  prince  of  the  house  of  David. 
'In  Dabylon  und  Shushan  he  met  the  roval  :na:7natcs  of  tlie 


30 


DANIELS  GREAT  PROPHECY. 


heathen  world.  He  was  contemporary  with  the  Greek  sages 
Anaximander,  Xenophanes,  Parmenides  and  Pythagoras.  He 
studied  "Moses  and  the  Prophets,"  and  Hke  Joseph  and  Moses 
could  decipher  Egyptian  obelisks  and  read  Assyrian  and  Baby- 
lonian texts  with  greater  ease  than  can  any  of  our  modern 
archaeologists.  He  loved  Jerusalem,  the  temple  and  the  Holy 
Land.  The  woes  of  his  nation  touched  his  heart  and  the  deso- 
lation of  Zion  melted  his  eyes  to  tears.  Although,  by  his  own 
influence,  the  edict  of  Cyrus  was  procured  for  the  release  of 
the  captives,  yet  as  an  exile,  he  chose  to  remain  at  the  court  in 
Babylon  in  order  the  more  to  promote  their  interests.  He  pur- 
sued his  mission,  trusting  in  a  faithful  God.  With  what  eyes 
his  associates  looked  upon  him  we  are  at  no  loss  to  know.  In 
his  person,  he  was  tair  of  countenance,  well-favored,  the  ad- 
miration of  Ashpenaz,  Melzar  and  Arioch,  the  object  of  their 
tender  regard.  In  his  demeanor,  he  was  courteous,  dignified, 
deferential,  reverent  and  respectful.  In  his  character,  abste- 
mious, serious,  devout,  courageous,  unblemished  in  his  private 
life  and  incorruptible  in  public  office,  a  pattern  of  righteous- 
ness, holiness,  wisdom,  prayer  and  faith — full  of  the  fear  of 
God — a  favorite  with  all.  In  his  attainments,  he  was  skilled 
in  all  learning  "ten  times  better  than  all  the  magicians  and 
astrologers"  that  served  in  the  king's  realm,  the  envy  of  the 
satraps  who  sought  to  destroy  him.  Whatangels_thought  of 
him  we  know.  Gabriel  could  address  him  as  a  man  full  of 
holy  desires,  "  a  man  greatly  beloved."    What  the  pro2hets  of 

\  his  time  thought  of  him  we  know.  Ezekiel  could  speak  of  him 
as  worthy  to  stand  beside  Noah  and  Job  because  of  his  right- 
eousness. The  queen-mother  of  Belshazzar  could  call  him  "  a 
man  of  excellent  spirit,  and  knowledge  and  understanding," 
full  of  "the  spirit  of  the  holy  Gods."  The  prince  of  Tyre  knew 
of  him  as  "  the  wisest  of  men  "  long  before  the  Delphic  oracle, 
so-called  Socrates.  The  Jewish  historian  of  later  days  held 
him  in  the  highest  estimation.  It  is  Josephus  who  says,  "  he 
was  one  of  the  greatest  of  prophets,  honored  during  his  life  as 

\  well  by  kings  as  by  the  people,  and  after  his  death  the  inheritor 
of  an  everlasting  remembrance."  The  S)Tiagogue  could  say, 
**  If  the  wi$e  men  of  all  nations  were  placed  in  Qne  scak  ?^nd 


INTRODUCTORY 


31 


Daniel  in  theother,  DanieTs  scale  would_descend_and  the  scale 
of  the  others  go  up  nito  the_air."  Illustrious  man,  superior  to 
all  the  kings  of  the  earth,  inferior  to  no  prophet  that  ever  arose 
before  or  after  him!  The  lions  in  their  den  stood  silent  at  his 
presence  and  bowed  their  salutations  to  him!  A  centennarian, 
he  entered  the  tomb,  dismissed  to  his  rest  by  an  angel  from 
heaven,  and  all  that  remained  of  the  mortal  part  of  a  man  so 
great  "  sleeps  "  to-day  "  in  the  dust  of  the  earth  "  at  Shushan, 
one  of  the  capitals  of  ancient  Persia.  He  received  a  promise 
that  one  day  his  body  should  rise  again,  transfigured  into  glory 
bright  as  the  firmament's  glance  and  gleaming  as  the  stars 
forever  and  ever.  In  presence  of  such  a  history,  mission  and 
life,  it  seems  profane  to  speak  or  even  think  of  our  own. 

In  view  of  what  is  yet  to  follow,  and  in  place  of  a  refutation 
of  modern  false  criticism,  not  possible  here  to  be  made,  I  as- 
sume at  the  outset,  (i)  the  genuineness  and  authenticity  of  the 
book  of  Daniel;  (2)  its  Messianic  character;  (3)  its  eschato- 
logical  scope;  (4)  that  its  five  great  prophecies  are  one  proph- 
ecy, and  that  its  miraculous  narratives  were  intended  to  be 
pledges  of  their  fulfillment;  (5)  that  the  Aledo-Persian  empire, 
viz. :  that  of  Cyrus,  is  the  second,  and  the  Roman  empire  is  the 
fourth  of  the  four  prophetic  empires  in  the  Colossus,  this  fourth 
one  now  divided  into  the  separate  and  independent  kingdoms 
of  the  modern  European  state's  system,  and  destined  to  pass 
away;  (6)  that  by  the  term  "  kingdom  "  is  meant  both  a  reign 
and  a  realm,  and  on  this  present  earth;  (7)  that  the  fulfillment  of 
so  much  already  of  what  Daniel  foretold  is  a  guarantee  that 
the  rest  will  be  accomplished.  And  our  thesis  is  this,  that  the] 
Fifth  Kingdom  to  rise  on  the  ruins  '6!.  illl  the  rtSt  is"  the  King- 
dom of  Christ  in  immediate  and  universal  victory,  and  which 
(i)  never  yet  has  so  arisen,  (2)  never  can,  and  (3)  never  will  so 
arise,  till  the  second  coming  of  the  Son  of  Alan  in  the  clouds  of 
heaven,  to  put  down  all  Gentile  politics  and  power,  and  intro- 
duce His  universal  reign  of  righteousness  and  peace.  Herein, 
I  afford  occasion  for  the  taking  of  offence  without,  however, 
giving  any,  by  our  modern  church-wisdom  which,  instead  of 
studying  the  book  of  God,  invents  a  new  revelation  for  His 
|?enefit,  removing  far  from  the  heart  of  the  church  the  hopq 


32  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

that  should  he  nearest  to  it,  and  assigning  to  the  church  a  mis- 
sion nowhere  assigned  to  her  in  the  Scriptures — an  invention 
which  apart  from  the  revelation  God  has  given,  the  empirical 
proofs  of  nineteen  centuries  have  shown  to  be  false,  and  the 
error  of  which  nineteen  more,  should  they  come,  would  only 
redundantly  confirm.  This  attitude,  however,  is  a  necessity, 
while  any  offence  taken  on  its  account  is  a  mere  contingency. 
The  unity,  harmony,  consistency  and  organic  self-interpreta- 
tion of  the  Scriptures  are  the  evidence  of  their  infallibility  and 
a  bulwark  of  defense  confronting  every  human  theory.  The 
"  sure  word  of  prophecy  "  is  not  darkness,  but  a  "  light  shin- 
ing in  a  dark  place,  unto  which  we  do  well  to  take  heed."  And 
the  certitude  w^e  seek  is  assured  by  the  fact  that  "  no  prophecy 
of  the  Scripture  is  of  any  private  interpretation  (of  what  God's 
mind  is),  nor  came  in  old  time  by  the  will  of  man,  but  men 
spake  from  God,  being  borne  along  by  the  Holy  Ghost." 


"It  is  undoubted  that  in  the  remarkable  human  form  of  the  Col- 
lossus,  seen  by  the  Chaldean  king,  and  interpreted  by  Daniel,  the 
history  of  mankind,  especially  of  the  world-power  in  its  imperial 
forms,  and  the  kingdoms  derived  from  it,  has  been  unveiled,  from 
Daniel's  time  to  the  second  coming  of  Christ  and  the  establishment 
of  the  Millennial  reign.  The  best  and  most  learned  investigators  of 
the  Scriptures,  to  day,  are  unanimous  herein,  viz.,  that  the  first  empire, 
the  head  of  gold,  is  the  Babylonian,  the  silver  is  the  Medo-Pcrsian, 
the  orass  is  the  Grieco-AIacedonian,  the  Iron  is  the  Roman,  and  the 
clay  feet  and  toes  the  modern  European  States-system,  iiicluding 
Syria,  Egypt  and  Greece.  We  have  only  to  wait  till  Jesus  Christ,  the 
Corner-stone  of  His  church,  and  now  the  Top-stone  in  heaven,  shall 
come  and  destroy  the  dynasties  of  this  world,  and  bring  His  own 
kingdom  to  victory  everywhere." —  ]\IiJhe. 


(34) 


Chapter  II 

The  proof  of  our  thesis  found  at  the  close  of  the  previous 
article,  rests  on  a  clear  understanding  of  Israel's  place  in  his- 
tory, and  on  the  structure  of  Daniel's  book.  Israel,  the  na- 
tions, the  kingdom  of  God,  are  its  themes.  Our  standpoint  is 
600  years  before  the  first  advent  of  Christ.  Daniel's  people, 
the  Jews,  are  the  key  of  the  whole  interpretation.  "  Salvatiun 
is  froui  the  Jczcs,''  not  from  Assyrians,  Babylonians,  Egyptians, 
Persians,  Greeks  or  Romans.  The  great  design  of  the  creation 
of  the  Hebrew  race  from  Abraham's  loins  was  Israel,  the 
bearer  of  the  true  religion,  and  standing  in  contrast  with  the 
entire  heathen  world,  and,  by  virtue  of  the  covenant  with 
David,  the  banner  kingdom  also,  a  holy,  royal,  priestly,  pro- 
phetic and  Messianic  people,  charged  with  the  mission  of 
bringing  salvation  to  all  mankind.  Their  polar  antagonism, 
therefore,  to  all  other  peoples  sunk  in  idolatry  was  constitu- 
tional by  God's  appointment.  For  this  reason  Israel's  history' 
becomes  the  pivot  of  all  other  history  and  Israel's  destiny  de- 
cides the  destiny  of  the  world.  In  Egypt  the  Hebrews  grew 
to  be  a  distinctive  people;  Sinai  was  the  birthplace  of  their  na- 
tionality and  of  their  covenant  with  God,  a  covenant  in  which 
He  pledged  to  them  universal  dominion  upon  conditions  of 
their  loyalty,  faith,  love  and  obedience  to  His  commandments. 
As  a  code  He  gave  them  the  Ten  Commandments  with  judicial 
and  ritual  institutions.  Under  David  and  Solomon  they 
reached  the  height  of  their  national  glory.  After  the  disruption 
of  the  kingdom  of  Solomon,  they  remained  free  from  foreign 
invasion  till  the  eighth  century  before  Christ,  save  the  single 
instance  of  the  invasion  of  Judah  by  Shishak,  king  of  Egypt, 
B.  C.  949.  In  the  eighth  century  came  the  Assyrians  striking 
them  successively  till  the  Ten  Tribes  were  carried  away  captive 
gnd  Samaria  was  overthrown,  722.    ^;ext  followed  the  Bab)^- 


36  DANIELS  GREAT  PROPHECY 

Ionian  rod,  Judah  borne  into  exile,  606-587,  her  temple  burned 
and  the  city  of  Jerusalem  destroyed.  Nothing  could  arrest 
the  downward  step  o'  apostasy,  even  though  the  prince  was  a 
pious  politician,  faithful  as  Hezekiah  or  Josiah,and  the  prophet 
courageous  as  Isaiah  or  Jeremiah.  The  might  of  sin  was 
stronger  than  the  law,  inborn  depravity  more  potent  than  the 
prophet's  appeal.  Sacrifices  were  vain  offerings  to  God — a 
"smoke  in  His  nose,"  unendurable.  Seven  times  apostate  from 
their  own  Jehovah,  their  realm  and  royalty  passed  into  Gentile 
hands.  The  Babylonish  exile  saw  the  visible  kingdom  of  God, 
the  only  organized  kingdom  of  God  on  earth,  blotted  out  from 
the  map,  the  independent  political  existence  of  the  Jewish  na- 
tion forfeited  forever  until  the  "  Times  of  the  Gentiles"  should 
close  and  Israel's  kingdom  once  more  be  restored  in  glory 
greater  than  at  first,  as  part  of  Messiah's  kingdom,  established 
in  victory  under  the  whole  heaven.  This  the  goal  of  all  proph- 
ecy, concerning  the  Jewish  people,  God's  "  choice  forever," 
and  the  whole  burden  of  Daniel's  book. 

When  Daniel  wrote,  the  historical  situation  was  deeply  sig- 
nificant. In  spite  of  the  light  of  nature,  the  whole  world  was 
wrapped  in  spiritual  gloom.  The  period  preceding  the  exile, 
B.  C.  606,  had  been  one  of  sanguinary  conquest,  and  Babylon 
sat  on  the  waters  of  the  Euphrates  as  mistress  of  the  nations. 
Six  different  languages  were  spoken  in  the  Euphrates  Valley — 
the  centre  of  the  world's  literature,  commerce,  trade,  art,  sci- 
ence, religion  and  military  pride  and  glory.  All  nations  and 
tribes  were  ruled  from  here.  Palestine  was  in  her  hands,  the 
princes  of  Judah  beneath  her  feet,  and,  to  the  mind  of  the 
Babylonian  king,  the  capture  of  the  holy  city  and  possession 
of  the  temple  vessels  was  a  victory  over  Israel's  defeated  tribal 
God,  Jehovah.  With  the  conquest  of  Judah  Nebuchadnezzar's 
empire  was  now  consolidated,  and  he  deemed  himself  "  King 
of  Kings  "  and  "  Lord  of  Lords  "  over  the  whole  earth.  True, 
indeed,  a  movement  in  Media  and  Persia  seemed  to  forebode 
disaster,  and  Greece  and  Rome  were  lifting  their  backs  high 
on  the  western  horizon.  And  what  might  the  future  bring? 
Is  Jehovah  defeated  forever?  The  exile-time  was  a  time  of  re- 
action and  revolution.    It  troubled  the  monarch's  thoughts, 


CHAPTER  II -THE  COLOSSUS.  37 

If  Israel  and  the  nations  have  succumbed  to  Babylon's  might, 
may  not  Babylon  herself  succumb  to  the  nations?  And  will 
Israel  be  captive  forever  and  Gentile  sovereignty  sway  a  scep- 
tre that  is  eternal?  The  sleep  of  the  monarch  was  troubled  in 
"  the  second  year  "  of  his  reign. 

At  such  a  time  Daniel  enters  into  history,  B.  C.  606,  a  cap- 
tive at  the  centre  of  all  world  movements.        God  causes  the 
Babylonian  king,  as  He  did  Pharaoh,  Alexander  and  Pilate's 
wife,  to  "  dream  a  dream,"  the  dream  of  the  great  monarchy 
image,  in  chap,  ii.,  and  also  to  forget  the  dream.    This  dream 
and  its  interpretation  are  the  fundamental  prophecy  of  all    the 
prophecies  in  the  book  of  Daniel.     AU  else  is  supplementary 
to  this.      Chapter  vii.   repeats  and  enlarges  this,   under   new 
symbols,  in  order  to  bring  out  something  new  in  the  develop- 
ment and  character  of  each  of  the*  four  empires.     Chapter  vhi. 
repeats  again  the  second  and  third  empires,  in  yet  other  sym- 
bols, again  to  develop  something  nczv.     Chapter  ix.  returns  to 
the  fall  of  Babylon  under  Cyrus  and  runs  on  with  a  chronolog- 
ical scheme  to  the  same  "  end  "  as  in  ii.  and  vii.,  and  typically 
shadowed  in  viii.     Chapters  x.-xii.  revert  once  more  to  the 
second  empire  and  run  on  to  the  same  "  end  "  as  before.    The 
same  law  of  advance  to  the  goal  or  end,  of  return  and  advance 
acrain  to  the  same  end,  that  we  find  in  the  different  series  of 
sevens  in  John's  apocalypse,  we  also  find  here.    The  future  is 
too  complex  to  be  represented  in  one  series  of  visions,  the  end 
too  great  to  be  displayed  in  one  revelation.    The  something  nez^' 
requires  a  return  to  begin  again,  a  cyclical  movement,  to  make 
a  new  race,  to  the  end,  till  all  that  God  intends  to  reveal  is 
given.    It  is  the  mode  of  evolution  in  all  prophecy  concerning 
the  End.    So  it  is  here.     The  first  series  is  found  in  chap.  ii. 
The  '*  End  "  is  the  end  of  the  "  Times  of  the  Gentiles."     The 
goal  is  the  destruction  of  all  Gentile  sovereignty,  all  Gentile 
politics  and  power,  the  restoration  of  the  kingdom  of  Israel  and 
the  triumph  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  the  kingdom  of  Christ, 
over  all  the  earth. 

We  are  ready  now  to  see  the  proof  of  our  thesis,  given  at 
the  close  of  the  previous  article.  The  monarch's  dream  is  in 
ii:  31-35,  the  interpretation  in  ii:  36-45.    The  point  of  chief  in- 


38  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

terest  is  the  Impact  of  the  Stone  on  the  toes  of  the  statue  or  im- 
age, i.  e.,  the  destruction  of  the  Gentile  World  Power  to  which 
Israel  is  now  subject  in  evcFy  nation  under  heaven,  and  has 
been  since  the  crown  passed  from  the  head  of  Zedekiah  and 
Gentile  sceptres  have  ruled  God's  ancient  people.  The  prophet 
reproduces  and  interprets  the  forgotten  dream  of  the  king. 
Coming  to  the  explanation  of  the  "toes"  of  the  statue,  he  says, 
"  And  as  the  toes  of  the  feet  were  partly  of  iron  and  partly  of 
clay,  the  kingdom  (the  fourth)  shall  be  parti}  strong  and  part- 
ly broken.  And  whereas  thou  sawest  iron  mixed  with  clay, 
they  (the  toes,  i.  e.,  the  kings  of  the  ten  kingdoms)  shah  mingle 
themselves  with  the  seed  of  men,  but  they  shall  not 
cleave  one  to  another  (royal  and  political  alliances  will  be 
broken)  even  as  iron  is  not  mixed  with  clay.  And,  /// 
tJie  days  of  those  kings,  shall  the  God  of  heaven  set  up  a  king- 
dom which  shall  never  be  destroyed  and  the  kingdom  shall  not 
be  left  to  other  people,  but  shall  break  in  pieces  and  consume 
all  tJicse  kingdoiiis,  and  it  shall  stand  forever.  Forasmuch  as 
thou  sawest  that  the  stone  was  cut  out  of  the  mountain  with- 
out hands,  and  brake  in  pieces  the  iron,  brass,  clay,  silver  and 
gold,  the  great  God  hath  made  kno\\n  to  the  king  what  shall 
come  to  pass  hereafter,  and  the  dream  is  certain,  and  the  inter- 
pretation is  sure.' 

Among  the  secrets  of  the  future,  the  prophet,  therefore,  re- 
veals (i)  the  total  destruction  of  the  statue,  i.  e.,  of  the  politi- 
cally organized  Gentile  power,  and  the  substitution  of  the 
Kingdom  of  God  in  the  stead  of  all  eartldy  kingdoms,  forever, 
and  (2)  that  the  time  of  this  world  crisis  is  "  hereafter,"  even 
"  in  the  days  of  those  kings,"  the  toes,  therefore,  in  the  last 
days  of  the  "  kings/'  who  are  the  heads  of  the  separate  and 
contemporaneous  ''  kingdoms "  into  which  the  fourth,  or 
Roman,  empire  will  be  divided.  By  the  iion  he  means  the 
hard  and  strong  imperial,  and  by  the  clay  the  weaker,  more 
plastic,  and  popular,  element  in  human  governments,  seeking 
vainly  to  combine  and  cohere  in  political  unity;  absolutism  re- 
pelling popular  freedom,  and  constitutionalism,  and  reversely 
the  latter  the  former;  mixed  monarchies,  where  the  popular 
will  wars  against  the  imperialism  of  crowns  and  defies  the  will 


CHAPTER  II -THE  COLOSSUS. 


39 


of  the  crown;  a  state  of  political  insecurity  and  instability.  L5y 
the  mingling"  of  the  kings  with  the  seed  of  men,  royal  alliances 
and  intermarriage  of  royal  houses  to  strengthen  dynastic  in- 
terests, is  meant.  By  the  "  Stone"  cut  out  from  the  mountain 
without  hands,  and  falling  upon  Uie  toes  of  the  statue,  is  meant 
the  descent  of  Jesus  Christ  from  heaven  in  judgment  to  smite 
the  kings  of  the  earth  and  dash  the  nations  in  pieces.  By  the 
fall  of  the  statue,  the  destruction  of  the  whole  world  power  is 
signified,  and  by  the  stone  becoming  a  "  mountain  "  filling 
the  whole  earth,  is  meant  the  world-embracing,  universal,  in- 
destructible and  everlasting  kingdom  of  Christ,  set  up  in  vic- 
tory, on  this  present  earth,  on  the  ruins  of  all  existing  govern- 
ments, in  the  last  days  of  the  last  kingdoms  into  which  the  old 
Roman  territory  will  l)e  divided. 

Rationalistic  dislike  of  supernatural  and  far-reaching  proph- 
ecy attempts  to  show  that  the  book  of  Daniel  was  composed 
in  the  days  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  B.  C.  175-164,  nearly  400 
years  after  Daniel  was  dead,  and  that  the  "Ten  Toes"  represent 
not  any  contemporaneous  kingdoms  to  be  formed  out  of  the 
Roman  empire,  but  are  ten  individual  successors  of  Alexander 
the  Great — ten  kings,  not  contemporaneous,  but  in  line.  Still 
more,  those  "  kings  "  do  not  mean  "  kingdoms,"  and  that  the 
fourth  empire  in  the  statue  is  not  the  Roman  but  the  Graco- 
Macedonian.  Words  need  not  be  wasted.  Hereafter  we  shall 
see  that  the  book  of  Daniel  was  composed  by  Daniel  during 
the  Babylonian  exile,  and  under  the  reign  of  Cyrus;  that  the 
fourth  empire  is  the  Roman,  and  that  the  "  Ten  Toes  "  are 
co-existing  kingdoms  formed  out  of  it.  Furthermore,  in  proph- 
ecy  the  terms  "  kings  "  and  "  kingdoms  "  are  convertible. 
The  "  kingdoms  "  are  represented  in  the  persons  of  their  kings, 
and  the  kings  represent  their  kingdoms.  The  Four  Beasts 
are  called  both  "  kings  "  and  "  kingdoms,"  Dan.  vii:  17.  The 
Ten  Toes  are  also  called  both  "  kings  "  and  "  kingdoms,"  in 
the  same  verse,  ii:  44.  "  Kings  "  and  "  kingdoms  "  are  ident- 
ical in  ii:  38,  39.  The  vain  attempt  to  exclude  the  Roman  em- 
pire from  the  statue,  and  so  exclude  the  birth  of  Christ  from 
the  development  of  the  prophecy;  further  on.  His  crucifixion, 
the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  and  the  future  overthrow  of  all 
Gentile  power,  is  well  understood  in  modern  times. 


4D  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

The  question  as  to  the  time  point  of  the  impact  is  vital.  The 
[)rophet  nowhere  teaches  that  this  impact  occurs  at  the  junc- 
tion of  the  knees  with  the  thighs  of  the  statue,  where  the 
Roman  empire  first  comes  into  view,  in  contact  with  the 
Greek,  anterior  to  the  birth  of  Christ.  Moreover,  the  first  ad- 
venv  is  not  s\  mboUzed  anywhere  in  the  statue.  We  meet  it  no- 
where till  we  reach  chap.  ix.  The  stone's  impact  does  not 
occur  at  the  first  advent.  The  words  "  the  God  of  tfeaven  shall 
set  up  a  kingdom  "  are  indeed  the  Old  Testament  basis  for  the 
New  Testament  designation,  the  "kingdom  of  Heaven,"  which 
John  the  Baptist  and  Christ  preached  as  "at  hand"  and  "come" 
in  their  day.  This  affords,  however,  no  proof  that  the  impact  of 
tJic  stone  occurred  then.  It  is  true  that  the  "  kingdom  of  Heav- 
en "  was  set  up  on  its  spiritual  side,  at  the  first  advent,  in  the 
birth,  life,  death,  resurrection  and  ascension  of  Christ,  and  in 
the  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  preaching  of  the  gos- 
pel, and  is  the  same  kingdom  that  will  yet  be  set  up  in  its  out- 
v.-ard  visible  glory  as  a  w^orld-w'ide  sovereignty  "  under  the 
whole  heaven,"  when  Gentile  politics  and  power  become  as 
"  the  chaff  of  the  summer  threshing  floor."  But  it  is  not  true 
that  it  is  to  the  first  advent  the  prophet's  eyes  are  directed  in 
the  vision  of  the  stone's  impact.  It  is  not  the  beginning  of  the 
fourth  empire  under  Augustus  we  have  here,  but  its  end,  and 
in  the  last  days  of  the  ten  toes  or  separate  kingdoms  into 
which  it  is  then  divided.  Such  division  did  not  exist  in  the 
days  of  Augustus,  nor  of  Tiberius,  nor  of  Diocletian,  nor  of 
Constantine,  nor  even  in  the  days  of  Thcodosius  when  the  final 
division  cast  and  west  was  made.  The  tenfold  division  of  the 
empire  into  separate  and  independent  kingdoms  follows  the 
work  of  the  Goths,  Vandals,  Huns  and  Heruli,  in  the  sixth  and 
seventh  centuries,  just  prior  to  the  emergence  of  Mohammed, 
and  the  mediaeval  and  modern  kingdoms  as  now  existing,  are 
not  the  last  arrangement  of  the  toes.  The  stone  could  neither 
strike  the  toes  before  they  were  formed,  nor,  having  struck 
them  and  turned  them  to  "chaff."  allow  them  to  survive,  like 
England,  France,  Germany,  Austria.  Italy,  Greece,  Turkey  and 
the  rest.  "  No  place  is  found  for  them."  The  work  of  the 
stone  is  not  smooth,  gentle,  evangelical  and  peaceful  rubbing, 


CHAPTER  a. -Tin:  coiossrs.  41 

but  perpendjc^nlar  fractur«.,  pulverization,  judicial  crrindinuJ 
atoniization,  an  attending  wind  of  judgment  blowing  the  chaff,] 
dust  and  powder  of  all  Gentile  poliU£3-  so  lar  out  of  sight  as 
never  to  be  seen  any  more.  Clearly,  therefore,  by  the  words 
"in  the  days  of  those  Icuigs,"  is  not  meant  "in  the  days  of  those 
four  empires,^'  as  Jerome  would  have  it,  nor  "  in  the  days  of 
one  of  those  four,"  as  his  perplexed  commentators  would  turn 
it,  but  in  the  last  days  of  the  fourth,  divided  into  ten  separate, 
contemporaneous  and  independent  kingdoms. 

The  efforts  of  /'o.y/-millennialists  to  break  this  exposition  are 
vain.  Nothing  is  clearer  than  that  the  empires  symbolized  in 
chaps,  ii.  and  vii.  are  the  same,  and  therefore  the  "  end  "  in 
each  the  same,  viz.,  the  end  of  the  fourth  divided  empire.  In- 
disputable is  the  fact  that  the  "  ten  toes  "  and  the  "  ten  horns  " 
represent  the  same  kings  and  kingdoms,  and  that  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  one  is  the  destruction  of  the  other.  Conscience, 
honesty,  truth,  cannot  otherwise  hold.  Therefore,  again,  noth- 
ing is  clearer  than  that  the  days  here  mentioned  as  the  days  of 
the  toes  (ii:  44)  are  the  "  1260  days,"  or  "  time,  two  times  and 
half  a  time,"  of  the  horns  in  vii:  25,  i.  e.,  the  last  1260  days  of 
the  70th  week  of  Daniel,  as  seen  in  ix:  27  and  xii:  7.  Post 
millenniaiists  have  no  option  here.  With  pre-millennialists  they 
firmly  hold  that  Daniel  has  unfolded  not  merely  the  future, 
like  other  prophets,  but  has  given  the  date  of  the  first  advent 
of  Messiah,  then  the  crucifixion  and  next  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem,  followed  by  the  times  of  the  Gentiles,  Dan.  ix:  26, 
Luke  xxi:  24,  and  closed  by  the  restoration  of  Israel  and  over- 
throw of  Gentile  governments.  They  admit  that  the  prophet 
has  given  us  not  merely  the  time-point  for  the  setting  up  of 
the  Messianic  kingdom  in  humiliation,  as  a  kingdom  of  the 
cross,  viz.,  the  first  advent,  but  also  of  the  setting  of  it  up  as  a 
kingdom  of  the  crown,  in  glory  at  the  second,  and  that  he  has 
taken  off  the  dark  veil  that  obscured  the  future  and  unrolled 
to  the  eyes  of  His  people  the  whole  pathway  of  their  sorrows, 
their  glorious  end  and  the  doom  of  their  oppressors.  They 
admit  more;  they  admit  that  he  has  connected  all  this  with  a 
scheme  of  chronology  in  chap.  ix.  which  locates  the  time-point 
of  the  final  deliverance  at  the  close  of  Gentile  times,  and  at 


42  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

the  close  of  the  last  half  of  the  70th  week.  Misfortune,  indeed, 
immense  and  protracted,  that  for  so  many  centuries  this  70th 
week  should  have  been  regarded  as  immediately  succeeding 
the  69th,  therefore  as  following  the  birth  of  Christ.  Cut  now 
that  this  great  error  has  been  destroyed,  and  the  70th  week 
shown  to  be  the  Antichrist  week  at  the  end  of  our  age,  the  last 
ground  of  objection  is  removed.  The  "  ten  toes  "  being  "  ten 
kingdoms  "  and  "  kings,"  and  their  last  days  oeing  the  days 
preceding  the  impact  of  the  stone,  who  is  Christ  in  judgment, 
it  follows  that  "  the  days  of  those  kings  "  are  the  last  "  1260 
days  "  of  the  70th  week  of  Daniel.  They  are  still  future  to  us 
and  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  first  advent. 

But  conclusive  beyond  all  is  the  New  Testament  light  upon 
the  whole  question.  On  all  hands  it  is  admitted  that  the  "  ten 
horns"  of  the  beast  in  Rev.  xiii.  are  identical  with  the  ten  horns 
of  the  beast  in  Daniel  vii.,  and  that  there,  as  here,  "  1260  days'* 
are  the  days  assigned  as  the  last  days  of  the  fourth  empire. 
And  as  the  horns  are  the  toes,  and  both  are  the  kings,  it  fol- 
lows that  "these  kings''  in  Dan.  ii:  44  are  precisely  the  "ten 
kin£s"  in  Rev.  xvii:  12,  zvhosc  alliance  zcifh  the  Antichrist  or 
little  horn  of  Dan.  vii.  endures  1260  days,  and  whose  destrnction 
with  him  is  the  work  of  the  Son  of  Man,  the  Stone,  Jesus  Christ, 
\at  His  second  coming.  The  impact  of  the  stone  is,  therefore,  at 
the  second  advent  and  was  not  at  the  first,  and  the  kingdom 
set  up  as  a  result  of  that  impact  is  not  yet  established  in  the 
I  form  predicted,  nor  can  be  till  the  Lord  Himself  comes. 

It  is  true  that  nothing  is  said  or  seen  in  chap.  ii.  of  the  Anti- 
christ, the  Son  of  Alan,  or  the  clouds  of  heaven,  for  the  simple 
reason  that  it  is  Nebuchadnezzar's  dream  the  prophet  inter- 
prets and  to  the  heathen  king  God  made  no  revelation  of  the 
Antichrist,  the  Son  of  Man,  the  second  advent  or  of  Israel's 
deliverance,  but  only  of  the  course  and  doom  of  Gentile  king- 
doms and  power.  It  is  in  the  next  vision  where  the  symbols 
are  changed  in  order  to  bring  out  something  further  and  nczv 
that  we  meet  these  things.  Chap.  ii.  is  the  fundamental  and 
general  vision.  All  that  follows  is  supplementativc  and  more 
minute  imveiling.  Such  is  the  law  of  progress  in  divine  reve- 
lation.   As  the  tree  branches  and  buds,  so  also  does  prophecy. 


CHAPTER  II -THE  COLOSSUS.  43 

The  impact  of  the  stone  is  cschatological.  All  that  is  said  of 
the  first  coming:  of  Christ  in  the  book  of  Daniel  is  foimd  in 
chap,  ix.,  viz.,  that  His  birth  should  occur  at  the  close  of  the 
69th  of  the  seventy  weeks  there  foretold  and  His  crucifixion 
precede  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem.  Neither  in  ii.,  vii., 
viii.,  x.-xii.,  is  the  first  advent  revealed. 

One  further  point,  by  bo>th  pre-  and  post-millennanans.  The 
idea  of  rolling-  has  been  introduced  into  the  text.    They  speak 
of  the  "  rolling  stone.''     Cy  post-millennarians  this  is  done  to 
evade  the  chiliastic  doctrine,  the  doctrine  that  the  kingdom 
cannot  come  to  victory  over  all  the  earth  till  Christ  comes. 
Prejudiced  by  early  education,  false  teaching  and  the  declama- 
tion of  g-ood  men,  trained  to  spiritualize  the  prophecies  and 
deny  to  Israel  a  national  future,  or  a  millennial  age  on  this 
present  earth,  after  our  own.  and  before  the  final  new  heaven 
and  earth,  they  must  find  some  way  to  break  the  force  of  the 
stone's  destructive  impact,  and  make  the  "  days  of  these  kings" 
mean  2,000  years  at  least,  if  not  20.000  more!       The  stone 
"  rolls,"  and  the  "  rolling  "  is  an  evangelical  process,  peaceful, 
missionary  and  full  of  music  and  love,  with  now  and  then  some 
transient  friction  by  way  of  occasional  wars  and  rumors  of  war, 
with  here  and  there  a  famine,  earthquake  or  pestilence,  which, 
however,  only  assist  the  rolling.       The  grinding  is  gradual, 
caused  by  the  progress  of  Christianity,  education,  culture  and 
civilization.     By  religion,  better  politics,  vespers,  ethics  and 
love,  human  governments,  especially  those  of  Christian  Eu- 
rope and  the  United  States,  will  become  more  Christian,  and 
society  be  redeemed  and  reformed  sociologically  from  the  evils 
that  now  afflict  it.    The  Stone  comes  in  contact  first  of  all  with 
the  knee-joints  of  the  Colossus,  "  rolls  "  gently  down  the  iron 
legs,  increases  in  size  by  aggregation  of  molecular  atoms,  or 
individual  saints,  and  converts  the  world-power  to  a  nominal 
Christianity,  so  that  kings,  cabinets,  parliaments,  congresses, 
nations,  all  profess  to  be  Christians — massacres,  murders,  wars 
and  crimes,  mammon,  selfishness,  greed  and  oppression,  t 
the  contrary  notwithstanding — swells  to  a  "  mountain  "  befor 
the  toes  are  reached,  and  so  "  fills  the  whole  earth."    Strangely' 
enough  the  Colossus  is  dw^arfed  down  gradually,  the  chafif  con 


44  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

stantly  flying,  and  yet  it  is  all  the  time  standing.  The  filling 
of  the  whole  earth,  which  is  posterior  to  the  impact,  is  made 
anterior.  "  Broken  to  pieces  "  means  glued  together,  and 
"  smote  "  means  "  roll."  "  Xo  place  found  for  them,"  means 
that  the  kingdoms  siill  exist  as  such,  in  a  Christian  form  or 
under  a  Christian  name.  Sudden,  perpendicular  and  chaflf- 
making  impact  is  displaced  by  gentle  cychng  from  knee  to 
I  ankle-joint  aruMnstcp  to  toe,  the  statue  still  standing!  The 
word  "  together '  is  strangely  overlooked,  and  "  one  after 
another  "  put  in  its  place.  The  result  is,  that  the  prophet  is 
made  to  tell  Nebuchadnezzar  that  Gentile  politics  and  power 
will  not  pass  away,  but,  at  the  first  coming  of  Christ,  a  "Stone" 
will  begin  to  "  roll,"  and  keep  on  "  rolling  "  for  two  thousand 
yeava,  and  that  in  the  midst  of  the  millennial  age  massacres, 
aided  and  abetted  by  "  Christian  powers,"  will  shame  those  of 
pagan  times,  and  so  the  "  kingdom  "  will  come  to  victory,  the 
world  be  converted,  Israel  saved,  all  nations  blessed,  while  the 
"  Stone  "  rolls  on,  side  by  side  with  the  "  concert  of  Europe," 
the  "  Balance  of  Power,"  and  the  "  Integrity  of  the  Ottoman 
Empire." 

It  is  a  customary  method,  among  our  ordinary  expounders 
of  Daniel's  book,  to  represent  the  impact  of  the  Stone  in  the 
following  way:  "  These  empires  have  all  passed  away,  alreadw 
and  the  kingdom  hewn  out  of  the  hard  quarry  of  sin-petrified 
humanity  by  divine  grace,  has  already  been  established  in  the 
Christian  church.  During  her  history  empires  and  thrones 
have  risen  and  fallen,  and  nations  have  rushed  to  arms  and 
swept,  as  with  a  tornado  of  blood,  the  surface  of  the  earth, 
then  gone  to  rest,  but  the  kingdom  stands.  Age  after  age  the 
arrows  of  ridicule  and  scorn  have  been  shot  at  its  subjects, 
the  artillery  of  infidelity  has  attacked  its  strongholds,  the 
sharp-shooters  of  wit  and  genius  have  sallied  forth  against 
its  unwary  hosts,  and  every  description  of  opposition  has  been 
leagued  against  the  Lord  and  His  Anointed.  But  the  king- 
dom stands."  Thus,  after  "all  these  empires  have  passed  away" 
and  "no  place  is  found  for  them,"  they  still  exist,  and  (to  quote 
another  word)  "  the  armies  of  the  Lord  press  on  to  victory!  " 
The  Stone  is  rolling  still  from  the  "  qaurry"  across  the  imag- 


CHAPTER  II -THE  COLOSSUS.  45 

ined  plain  in  order  yet  to  reach  the  Toes  of  the  statue— non- 
existent yet  existing.  Sobriety  might  well  enquire  whether 
a  little  grammar,  logic,  and  study  of  Daniel's  book,  might  not 
have  spared  the  public  exhibition  of  a  rhetoric  so  self-contra- 
dictory and  amusing? 

The  most  common  defense  of  this  presentation  is 
to  say  that  by  "  kingdoms  "  in  the  statue  only  heathen  king- 
doms arc  meant,  and,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  prophecy  in  large 
part  has  been  already  fulfilled.  The  misfortune  of  that  answer 
is  two-fold,  (i)  that  three  o^  the  empires— Babylon,  Aledo-Per- 
sia  and  the  Greek— had  passed  away  before  the  "  Stone  "  was 
born,  and  that  instead  of  striking  the  fourth,  the  fourth  struck 
it,  and  laid  it  in  its  grave,  and  that  now,  though  ascended  to 
heaven,  it  cannot  descend  from  the  mountain  till  the  last  days 
of  divided  Roman  empire;  and  (2)  that  it  is  precisely  on  Chris- 
tian toes  and  Christian  horns  the  "  Stone  "  falls,  and  it  is 
Christian  kingdoms,  so-called,  that  are  ground  to  powder. 
The  impact  of  the  Stone  is  a  judgment  not  on  heathenism,  but 
on  Christendom,  after  the  gospel  has  been  given  to  all  nations. 
It  smiles  the  "  Christian  Powers  "  that  be,  in  order  to  make 
room  for  the  Kingdom  of  Christ. 

Some  pre-millennialists  introduce  the  "rolling,"  but  in  order 
to  show  "  two  stadia  "  in  the  kingdom  set  up.  These  they  call 
the  "  Kingdom  of  the  Rolling  Stone,"  and  the  "  Kingdom  of 
the  non-Rolling  Mountain,"  the  one  dating  from  the  first  ad- 
vent, the  other  from  the  second.  By  this  means  two  separate 
functions  are  assigned  to  the  "Stone,"  (i)  that  of  "rolling" 
for  2,000  years  or  more,  (2)  that  of  impact  at  the  end  of  these 
years.  AH  this  springs  from  the  fact  that  the  time  of  the  first 
advent  is  assumed  as  the  "  time  of  the  days  of  these  kings," 
which  it  is  not.  Even  on  the  supposition  that  the  Stone  rolled 
on  a  plain,  what  impression  could  it  have  on  the  statue?  None! 
The  moment  it  strikes  the  toes  the  statue  falls.  The  stone  does 
lot  "roll"  after  its  contact  with  the  toes.  The  church-period 
does  not  follow  the  impact,  but  prcedes  it.  The  toes  are  the  end 
of  the  fourth  empire.  It  is  true  that  Christ's  kingdom  makes 
progress  in  this  age  by  extension  of  the  gospel,  but  the  church 
period  and  the  progress   of   Christianity   are   precisely   two 


/, 


46  DANIELS  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

things  that  nowhere  enter  into  the  visions  of  Daniel.  No 
"  woman  "  is  seen  in  his  perspective  as  in  John's.  He  has 
nothing  to  do  with  the  development  of  the  church.  Israel  as 
a  nation,  the  nations,  the  kingdom  in  victory,  arc  his  themes. 
He  predicts  the  first  advent  and  the  crucifixion  simply  as 
events  in  Israel's  history,  laying  the  ground  for  the  destruction 
of  Jerusalem  by  Titus  and  the  dispersion  of  the  Jewish  people 
into  all  lands,  until  the  time  comes  for  their  restoration.  His 
eyes  are  directed  to  the  end  of  Gentile  times.  He  sees  the 
Kingdom  of  Christ  set  up  in  victory  over  all  the  earth,  and 
Israel's  kingdom  restored,  only  upon  the  ruins  of  all  Gentile 
politics  and  at  the  second  coming  of  Christ.  The  fact  is,  that 
neither  Nebuchadnezzar  nor  Daniel  saw  any  "  rolling,"  or  hor- 
izontal or  circular  motion  of  any  kind,  but  simply  a  perpen- 
dicular impact  upon  the  toes,  a  tottering  statue,  a  fall  tre- 
mendous, a  cloud  as  of  chafif.  a  driving  wind,  and  the  Kingdom 
of  Christ  at  once  filling  the  whole  earth.  "When  Thy  judg- 
ments are  abroad  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  will  learn  right- 
eousness." Moreover,  how  the  same  "  Stone  "  could  "  roll  " 
toward  the  four  points  of  the  compass  at  once  and  fill  the 
whole  earth  is  inconceivable.  It  is  only  as  a  standing  and  self- 
expanding  stone  this  universality  could  be  achieved.  The  im- 
pact itself  will  be  universal.  The  cfYcct  of  that  impact  will  be 
the  same.  Ez'cryzchcrc  the  kingdom  z^-ill  couic.  The  Judgment 
of  the  nations  is  in  order  to  the  salvation  of  the  nations.  Nor 
will  it  require  ages  to  set  up  the  kingdom  of  Christ  on  earth 
at  His  coming.  The  idea  of  long  continuity  through  ages  long 
is  not  found  in  the  Hebrew  verb,  translated  "  became."  i.  e., 
"  became  mountain"  (ii:  35).  It  is  the  same  verb  found  in  the 
words  "and  man  became  a  living  soul."  Gen.  ii:  7.  It  denotes 
here  a  fact  accomplishec  at  the  time  of  the  action. 

And  such  was  the  view  of  the  holy  prophet  who  spake  by  in- 
spiration of  God.  He  humbled  the  monarch's  pride  by  teach- 
ing that  Israel's  God  was  not  defeated  because  Israel  had  been 
delivered,  for  sin,  to  Gentile  hands,  but  still  lived  as  "  God 
most  High,"  a  Revealer  of  secrets,  Almighty  to  save,  righteous 
in  punishing  sin.  yet  watching  in  love  His  people;  that,  one 
da/,  Gentile  power  should  perish  forever,  and  the  kingdom  of 


CHAPTER  II.-THE  COLOSSUS.  47 

God  be  set  up  in  victory  everlasting  from  pole  to  pole.  The 
rise  and  fall  of  successive  empires,  of  which  the  fourth  is  the 
Roman,  was  shown  to  the  monarch,  the  far  "  end,"  the  doom 
of  man's  governments,  the  establishment  of  the  government  of 
God,  and  on  this  present  earth,  when  God's  will  shall  be  "done 
on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven."  Then  God's  people,  heirs  of  the 
kingdom,  will  be  free  from  the  despot's  chain,  and  humanity 
cease  to  groan  beneath  a  burden  no  power  but  God's  could  re- 
move. So  preached  the  great  pre-millennial  prophet  of  the 
exile  in  the  ears  of  the  king  of  the  greatest  kingdom  on  earth,' 
a  doctrine  whose  teaching  to-day  the  church  dishonors.  To 
the  monarch  it  came  as  a  message  from  God  by  the  mouth  of 
a  seer  who  declared  that  "  the  vision  is  certain  and  the  inter- 
pretation is  sure."  It  impressed  the  soul  of  the  king.  It 
brought  glory  to  God;  to  Daniel,  great  honor,  abundant  gifts, 
a  seat  in  the  gate  of  the  king,  as  primate  of  all  the  realm  and 
master  of  all  the  wise,  and  to  Daniel's  friends,  dignities  next 
to  his  own. 

]\Iay  the  vision  be  soon  fulfilled! 

And  such  was  the  view  of  this  prophecy  taken  hy  great 
church  teachers  in  early  times,  of  whom  two  rcmahi  unsur- 
passed, the  one,  Irenreus  the  Great;  the  other,  his  greater  dis- 
ciple, riippolytv^he  first  saying,  "  At  the  end  of  our  age  the 
Stone  will  strikcliie  statue,"  and  ''Jesus  Christ  is  the  Stone;" 
the  second  saying,  "  At  the  end  of  our  age  the  Stone  grinds 
to  powder  the'kingdoms  of  this  world."  Nor  wdll  the  prophecy  | 
admit  of  any  other  interpretation. 


'  Imperial  powers  must  sink  when  virtue  fails, 
And  selfishness  with  pride  alone  prevails; 
He  argues  ill  who  from  its  fortune  draws 
The  goodness  or  the  badness  of  a  cause; 
Success  on  merit  does  not  always  wait; 
Remember,  too,  old  Babylon  the  Great! 

(Through  prosperous  crime  the  ancient  empires  fell; 
Ambition,  bloodshed,  guilt,  their  funeral  knell; 
Unerring  law,  with  its  resistless  force, 
IMapped  out  for  each  its  swift  and  downward  course; 
A  ruling  power  defined  their  years,  their  pace. 
The  road  that  led  to  judgment  and  disgrace; 
Were  not  events  by  Him,  Most  High,  controlled, 
How  could  their  certain  order  be  foretold? 
How  could  the  prophet  sing  of  future  doom, 
Or  in  the  present  read  the  age  to  come?  " 

— Crell. 


(48) 


Chapter  III. 

DANIEL,  CHAPTER  VIL— THE  FOUR  BEASTS. 

A  critical  question  of  importance  confronts  the  student  of 
this  prophecy,  and  involves  the  veracity  of  the  whole  book  of 
Daniel.  A  word,  therefore,  is  necessary  as  to  Daniel's  histor- 
ical reliability,,  with  which  his  prophecies  are  so  intimately  con- 
nected. The  date  of  the  vision  and  its  writing  are  said  to  be 
in  "the  first  year  of  Belshazzar,  king  of  Babylon,"  ch.  vii:  i. 
Modern  criticism  denies  the  existence  of  any  such  king,  even 
as  it  denies  the  existence  of  "  Darius  the  Mede,"  ch.  ix. :  i 
The  absence  of  the  special  name  Belshazzar  from  ancient  his- 
tory has  caused  many  to  identify  him  with  Evil-AIerodach, 
ihe  son  and  immediate  successor  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  B.  C. 
561,  inasmuch  as  Daniel  represents  Belshazzar  as  the"  son" 
of  his  "father"  Nebuchadnezzar,  and  his  sucessor,  v:  2.  22. 
According  to  this  view  the  date  of  the  prophecy  is  B.  C.  561, 
or,  2;^  years  before  the  fall  of  Babylon,  538.  The  third  year  of 
Belshazzar,  the  year  of  his  sacrilegious  feast,  and  death  (v: 
1-30)  was,  therefore,  B.  C.  559,  or  21  years  before  the  capt- 
ure of  the  city;  his  successor,  "  Darius  the  Alede,"  being 
Neriglissar,  B.  C.  559.  Daniel,  therefore,  is  wholly  wrong,  his- 
torically, in  5:  22;  6:  28;  7:  i;  8:  i;  9:  i;  since  Belshazzar, 
the  son  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  like  Darius  the  Alede,  is  unknown 
to  history,  and  no  death  of  any  such  king  occurred  when  Baby- 
lon was  taken.  Belshazzar's  feast  and  death  were  Evil- 
Merodach's  feast  and  death,  21  years  before  the  Chaldean 
power  passed  away.  So  runs  the  criticism,  other  views  also 
having  been  advanced  to  account  for  the  same  supposed  dif^- 
culty,  viz.,  that  Belshazzar  is  a  myth,  like  "  William  Tell," 
or  Shakespeare's  "  Merchant  of  \>nice,"  the  fabrication  of  a 
Alaccabean  Jew,  besides  many  others  still. 

(49) 


50  DANIEL'S  GREAT  I'KOFHECY. 

The  testimony  cf  the  Babylonian  cyhnders  of  Cyrus  and 
Nabonnaicl,  and  the  annahstic  tablets  of  the  time, have  success- 
fully repelled  this  assault  on  Daniel's  credibility.  The  name 
Belshazzar  has  been  discovered  under  the  form  of  "Bel-sar- 
usur,"  the  "Ha-bal-sarru "  of  the  Chaldean  army,  the 
"  Vice-king  "  and  "eldest  son  "  of  Xabonnaid,  the  last  king 
of  Babylon,  who  reigned  17  years,  B.  C.  555-538,  this  "  son  " 
being  co-regent  during  the  last  three  years  of  his  reign,  i.  e. 
three  years  next  preceding  Babylon's  fall,  538.  The  monu- 
ments still  further  establish  the  facts  that  to  "  Bel-sar-usur  " 
was  entrusted  the  defence  of  Babylon  in  538,  while  his  father 
Nabonnaid  took  the  field  in  Accad  and  was  defeated  by  Cyrus, 
the  same  year.  The  Greek  historians,  Herodotus  and  Xeno- 
phon,  both  support  the  statement  of  Daniel  that  Belshazzar 
met  his  death  at  that  time  in  the  midst  of  revelry,  an  "  impious 
young  king."  Assuming,  therefore,  the  identity  of  Belshazzar 
with  Bel-sar-usur,  the  reliability  of  Daniel  is  confirmed  and 
the  true  date  of  the  vision  in  ch.  vii.  is  B.  C.  541,  the  third  year 
before  Babylon's  fall.  All  the  statements  of  Daniel  are  in  per- 
fect harmony  with  this.  It  must  be  noted  that  Da.niel  nowhere 
affirms  that  Belshazzar  was  the  "  immediate  "  son  or  succes- 
sor of  Nebuchadnezzar,  nor  that  he  was  "  the  last  king  of 
Babylon,"  nor  does  he  deny  that  he  was  the  son  of  Xabonnaid. 
nor  that  Nabonnaid  was  the  "  last  king."  He  calls  him  "  son  " 
of  X^ebuchadnezzar,  as  does  also  the  imposing  Oueen-^Iothcr. 
in  the  banquet,  v:  2.  22.  Nebuchadnezzar  is  called  his 
"  father."  In  Semitic  languages  no  word  exists  for  "  grand- 
father "  and  none  for  "  grandson."  The  term  "Ab,"  "  father." 
denotes  semitically  all  ancestors,  as  when  Abraham  is  called 
the  "  father  "  of  the  Jews,  and  the  term  "  Ben,"  "  son,"  all 
descendants,  as  when  Jesus  Christ  is  called  the  "  son  "  of 
David,  and  "  son  "  of  Abraham.  Belshazzar  was  indeed  the 
son  of  Nabonnaid,  and  at  the  same  time  semitically  and  in 
popular  usage,  the  "  son  "  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  i.  e.  his  grand- 
son. The  Queen-Mother  was  his  grandmother,  the  mother  of 
the  wife  of  Nabonnaid,  the  widow  of  X"^cbuchadnezzar.  whose 
daughter     Nabonnaid  married,  thus  gaining  his  title  to  the 


CHAPTER  J-II.—TIIE  FOUR  BEASTS. 


54 


throne.  The  title  "  king  "  was  given  to  Belshazzar  when  co- 
regent  with  his  father,  as  was  the  case  with  Nebuchadnezzar 
himself.  Dan.  i:  i.  Professor  Sayce,  like  others,  has  misin- 
terpreted some  inscriptions,  and  conceded  to  the  critics  their 
assault,  yet  reserving  the  right  to  "  change  "  his  opinion  "on « 
better  information  "  — a  wise  reserve  in  view  of  the  just  words  \ 
of  Delitzsch,  that  "Assyriologists  have  made  many  false  read- ) 
ings  of  which  they  may  well  be  ashamed." 
The  inscription  on  the  great  Cyrus-Xabonnaid  Cylinder  closes 
its  account  of  the  capture  of  Babylon  thus, — beginning  with 
Col.  Hi:  line  6.  "In  the  month  Tammuz  Cyrus  came  and  fought 
a  battle.  *  *  "''  The  men  of  Accad  broke  out  into  insurrection. 
On  the  14th  day  the  soldiers  of  Cyrus  took  Sipara  without 
a  stroke  of  the  sword.  Nabonnaid  fled.  On  the  i6th  day 
Ugbaru  (Gobryas)  and  the  army  of  C3TUS  came  to  Babylon, 
without  fighting.  In  the  month  Marchesvan  (November  B. 
C.  538),  on  the  third  day,  Cyrus  came  to  Babylon,  proclaimed 
peace,  and  made  Ugbaru  (Gobryas)  governor.  On  the  nth 
day  of  ]\Iarchesvan  Ugbaru  had,  *  *  *  And  the  King  died.  Prom 
2p]i  Adar  to  jd  Nisan  there  zcas  nwnniing  in  Accad."  The 
"King"  was  no  other  than  Bel-sar-usur,  since  Cyrus  spared 
Nabonnaid  and  made  him  governor  of  Carmania.  The  In- 
scription is  indisputable.  It  calls  Bel-sar-usur  the  "first-born 
son,"  and  leaves  him  in  command  of  Babylon,  while  his  father 
is  in  the  field,  in  Accad.  It  calls  him  "King,''  his  father  still 
living.  It  makes  him  co-regent,  and  the  actual  ruler  in  the 
city  of  Babylon,  after  his  father's  crown  was  lost.  It  narrates 
the  capture  of  the  cit}-  on  the  ^d  and  his  death  on  the  iith. 
The  inscription  is  defective  in  places,  but  w^e  are  left  to  infer 
that  the  King's  death  was  the  result  of  wounds  inflicted  during 
the  night  of  the  capture.  Daniel  says  "he  was  slain,"  i.  e., 
struck  fatally  with  the  sword.  The  monument  says  he  "died" 
— was  killed.  And  yet  this  part  of  the  Inscription,  giving 
the  title  and  death  of  Belshazzan,  is  delibe£atelv  suppressed  by 
Kamphausen,  the  editor  ot  ''Uaniel"  in  the  polychrome  Bible 
of  the  Critics, — when  quoting  the  lines  immediately  preceding 
the  notice  ot  tlie  death!    Das  Buch  Daniel,  p.  25-28.    The  In- 


52  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

scription  was  published  by  Rawlinson  1854,  Pinches  1882, 
Schradcr  1880,  1890,  Hommel  1888,  Diistcrvvald  1893,  and  by 
many  more.    All  Assyriologists  are  aware  of  it. 

And  now  for  the  prophecy  itself.  In  ch.ii.  the  monarch  of 
Babylon  had  dreamed  and  seen  a  four-metalled  colossus.  Here, 
in  ch.  vii,  Daniel  "dreams  a  dream,"  and  has  "  visions  of  his 
head  upon  his  bed" — "visions  of  the  night,"  vii:  i.  The 
spirit,  even  when  the  brain  sleeps,  has  a  faculty  in  which  sens- 
ible objects  can  be  represented  as  if  seen  by  the  bodily  eyes. 
Seven  tableaux  pass  before  him,  the  first  five  relating  to  four 
beasts  successively  rising  from  a  storm-tossed  sea,  vii:  i.  4.  5.  6. 
7., the  last  two  to  the  judgment  of  the  Fourth  Beast  and  its 
Horns,  vii:  8.  13.  Each  is  introduced  by  the  wonder-word  "Be- 
hold! " — "  I  saw  and  behold!  "  In  ancient  times  animal  forms 
were  used  by  Oriental  monarchs  to  symbolize  their  empires, 
as  Assyrian  and  Bab\lonian  excavations  show,  and  history  as 
well,  and  in  the  history  before  us  we  learn  how  God  employed 
such  forms  to  represent  the  different  successive  phases  of  the 
"  W'orld-Power,"  in  all  time,  and  so  unveil  to  the  prophet  its 
future  course  and  its  end.  Ch.  vii.  furnishes  the  decisive  con- 
firmation of  the  truth  of  our  thesis,  viz., that  the  kingdom  of 
Christ  can  never  come  to  victory  over  all  the  earth  until  the 
second  coming  of  the  Son  of  Man. 

The  vision  of  the  Fourth  Beast  marks  an  unparalleled  ad- 
vance in  the  mode  of  prophetic  representation,  by  introducing 
a  ^oiemn  assize,  in  which  "  One  like  a  Son  of  Man  "  comes 
wicn  clouds,  to  destroy  the  last  Antichrist  and  all  Gentile  poli- 
•■ics  and  power,  and  to  erect  a  fifth  and  universal  monarchy 
'''  underneath  all  heavens."  It  is  the  high-point  of  Old  Test- 
ament eschatology.  There  is  nothing  like  it  anywhere  else  in 
all  the  prophets.  It  is  paralleled  only  by  the  scenes  in  the 
Revelation  given  of  God  to  Christ,  and  by  Him  through  His 
rmgel  to  John.  As  a  picture  of  the  advent  it  is  without  a  peer 
in  the  Old  Testament,  transcending  all  other  representations 
by  its  solemnity,  sublimity,  and  majesty,  its  dramatic  power 
and  its  terror.  It  enters  more  largely  than  any  other  scene  into 
New  Testament  prophe:y,  and  forms  the  basis  of  all  the  New 


CHAPTER  111.— THE  EOCR  BEASTS. 


53 


Testament  representations  of  the  End.  Twenty-one  out  of 
twenty-eight  massive  verses  are  here  given  to  the  fourth,  or 
Roman  Empire,  seventeen  of  these  to  Christ  and  the  Antichrist. 
It  means  that  the  subject  is  of  infinite  moment. 

The  prophet  beholds  four  empires  emerging,  one  after  an- 
other, out  of  the  billowy  sea  of  the  heathen  world.  The  surging 
waters  are  an  emblem  of  the  heathen  nations  in  tumult.  The 
Beasts  correspond  to  the  metals  in  ch.  ii.,  and  in  the  order  of 
their  appearing.  The  strength  and  swiftness  of  the  Babylonian 
empire  and  its  ferocity  are  represented  by  a  Lion  v^^ith  eagle's 
wings.  The  loss  of  its  plumage  denotes  the  cessation  of  its 
conquests,  and  its  change  of  posture  from  that  of  a  beast  to 
that  of  a  man,  and  the  gift  of  "  a  man's  heart,"  the  moral  effect 
produced  by  the  recovery  of  the  Chaldean  king  from  his  seven 
year's  mania.  Dan.  iv:  i6;  25-37;  34-37,  The  ^irar'.?  elevation, 
lifting  itself  with  its  paw  "  on  one  side,"  marks  the  superiority 
of  the  Persian  to  the  Median  element  in  the  Medo-Persian  em- 
pire of  Cyrus.  The  "three  ribs"  in  its  mouth  are  his  conquests 
of  Susiana,  Lydia  and  Asia  Minor,  while  the  command,  "Arise 
and  devour  much  flesh,"  denotes  the  carnivorous  voracity  of 
the  Bear  and  the  future  conquests  of  Babylon  and  Egypt.  In 
the  Leopard  or  Panther  the  "  four  wings  "  represent  the  celerity 
of  Alexander's  conquests  in  every  direction,  and  the  "  four 
heads  "  the  partition  of  his  empire  into  the  four  kingdoms  of 
Syria,  Egypt,  Macedonia  and  Asia  Minor. 

The  "  Fourth  Beast "  is  that  which  attracts  the  prophet's 
special  notice;  a  Beast,  dreadful,  exceeding  strong,  terrible, 
with  iron  teeth,  devouring,  breaking  in  pieces,  stamping,  di- 
verse from  all  the  rest.  "  Ten  horns,"  the  symbols  of  kings 
and  their  kingdoms  together,  surmount  the  head  of  the  Beast, 
among  which  an  "  eleventh  "  rises,  having  "  eyes  like  a  man," 
denoting  its  intellectuality  and  human  personality,  and  a  mag- 
niloquent mouth  blaspheming.  Uprooting  a  triple  alliance  that 
stands  in  its  w^ay,  it  acquires  the  power  of  all  the  horns,  because 
'*  stouter  than  its  fellows."  Three  years  and  a  half  it  persecutes 
the  "  saints  of  the  Most  High,"  the  Jewish  people,  changing 
their  festive  times  and  ritual  laws,  subjecting  them  to  great 


54  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

tribulations.  At  the  end  of  this  period  a  Judgment  scene  breaks 
in,  and  terminates  the  mad  career  of  the  Horn.  Thrones  are 
placed,  (not  cast  down)  in  the  heavens  immediately  above  the 
earth,  for  judges  to  sit  upon,  in  the  midst  of  which  the  "Ancient 
of  Days  "  (Hattiq  Yomin),  the  "  bedayed  "  one,  sits,  venerable 
to  beliold,  arrayed  in  white  vesture,  "  white  as  snow  and  the 
hair  of  his  head  like  the  pure  wool.  "  Pavilioned  in  flame, 
streams  of  fire  proceeding  before  Him,  ten  thousand  times 
ten  thousand  angels  attending.  He  presides  over  the  heavenly 
Sanhedrin  come  for  judgment.  "  The  Judgment  sits  and  the 
books  are  opened."  The  effect  of  the  judgment  is  stated.  The 
Beast,  the  personal  Eleventh  Horn,  who,  by  accjuiring  all 
power,  had  become  the  whole  Beast  in  his  own  person,  is  taken 
and  slain,  and  his  body  given  to  Tophet,  the  burning  flame. 
The  rest  of  the  Beasts  survive  a  brief  season,  after  their  domin- 
ion is  taken  away,  and  are  destroyed.  But  this  is  not  all. 
Though  God  the  Father,  the  "  Ancient  of  Days,"  presides, 
yet  "Another,"  to  whom  "dominion  and  glory  "  are  given,  i.  e., 
the  right  to  judge,  rule  and  receive  the  honor,  as  well  as  the 
kingdom,  suddenly  appears  in  the  midst  of  the  scene.  "  I  saw 
in  the  night  visions,  and  behold.  One  like  a  Son  of  !\Ian  came 
.with  the  clouds  of  heaven,and  came  to  the  Ancient  of  Days, 
and  they  brought  him  near  before  Him.  And  there  was  given 
to  him  dominion,  and  glory,  and  a  kingdom,  that  all  peoples, 
and  nations,  and  languages,  should  serve  Him;  His  dominion 
is  an  everlasting  dominion  which  shall  not  pass  away,  and  His 
kingdom  that  which  shall  not  be  destroyed."  It  is  the  "  Pa- 
rousia"  of  Christ  we  have  here,  the  second  advent  of  the  Son 
of  Man,  to  whom  the  Father  has  committed  all  judgment,  that 
all  men  should  honor  the  Son  even  as  they  honor  the  Father. 
John  5:  22.  23.  It  is  Israel's  Messiah,  the  Christian's  Lord, 
who  executes  the  judgment  willed  by  the  Father  upon  the 
World-Power  and  its  last  representative,  the  antichristian 
Horn.  A  Doitblc-sccnc  is  here,  a  scene  in  two  acts,  v.  9-12,  and 
V.  13.  14.  in  order  to  bring  out  pronnnently  the  fact  that  it  is 
by  the  I-'ather's  will  the  Son  is  made  the  Judge  of  all  mankind, 
and  by  His  incarnation,  death,  resurrection  and  ascension,  has 
acquired  the  right  to  judge  and  reign  eternally. 


CHAPTER  J- II. —THE  EOrR  BEASTS. 


55 


The  prophet  was  impressed  and  perplexed  by  the  solemn 
vision,  and  "would  know  the  truth  of  all  this"  that  he  had  seen, 
"the  truth  of  the  foiuili  beast"  cspecially,"and  of  the  ten  horns," 
and  yet  more  especially  "  of  the  other  that  came  up,  before 
wdiom  three  fell,"  "  the  horn  that  had  eyes,  and  a  mouth  speak- 
ing very  great  things,  and  whose  look-  was  more  stout  than  his 
fellows."  He  is  intensel}-  curious  and  particular  in  his  specifi- 
cations. An  angel  explains.  After  briefly  describing  the  all- 
conquering  character  of  the  Roman  empire,  (7:  32)  he  says, 
"And  the  Ten  Horns  thou  sawest  out  of  this  kingdom  (the 
Roman)  are  Ten  Kings  that  shall  arise,  and  another  shall  arise 
after  them,  and  he  shall  be  diverse  from  the  first  ones,  and  shall 
subdue  three  kings.  And  he  shall  speak  words  against  the 
Most  High,  and  shall  wear  out  the  saints  of  the  Alost  High, 
and  think  to  change  times  and  laws.  And  they  (the  saints) 
shall  be  given  into  his  hand  until  a  time,  two  times,  and  the 
dividing  of  a  time  (1260  days).  Eut  the  Judgment  shall  sit, 
and  they  (the  Ancient  of  Days,  the  Son  of  }.Ian,  the  angels) 
shall  take  away  his  Sultanate  to  consume  and  destroy  it  to  the 
end."  (vii:  24-26.)  And  now  comes  the  grand  announcement 
of  the  outcome  and  goal  of  the  prophecy,  the  companion-piece 
precisely  of  that  in  ch.  ii:  44,  viz.,  "And  the  kingdom,  and  the 
Sultanate,  and  the  greatness  of  the  kingdom  underneath  all 
heavens,  shall  1)e  given  to  the  people  of  the  saints  of  the  Most 
High,  wliose  kingdom  is  an  everlasting  kingdom,  and  all  Sul- 
tanates shall  serve  and  obey  Him"  (vii:  27).  Here,the"kingdom" 
is  set  up  on  earth  by  the  "God  of  heaven,"  at  the  second  coming 
of  the  Son  of  I\Ian  in  the  clouds,  to  destroy  the  last  Antichrist, 
and  demolish  all  Gentile  politics  and  power.  Here  is  found 
the  much-despised  "Chiliasm"  (Pre-millennialism),  indestruct- 
ible as  the  truth  and  throne  of  God!  As  face  answers  to  face 
in  water  so  Dan.  vii:  2y  answers  to  Dan.  ii:  44,  an  invulnerable 
demonstration  that  the  kingdom  of  Christ  cannot  come  to 
victory,  nor  "God's  will  be  done  in  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven," 
until  the  second  coming  of  the  Son  of  Man.  He  who  denies 
this  denies  the  text  of  the  prophet,  the  Word  of  God,  spoker, 
and  interpreted  by  an  angel  of  God,  a  vision  and  interpretation 


56  DANIELS  GREAT  rROl'HECY. 

written  by  inspired  hands  at  the  time  they  were  given  (7:  i), 
and  Hke  all  else  in  Daniel's  "book,"  anthenticated  as  the  "Scrip- 
ture of  Truth,"  and  with  the  closing  revelation  commanded  to 
be  sealed  as  a  perfect  word,  a  light  and  a  lesson  for  the  "  wise  " 
in  the  "  time  of  the  end."    (xii:  4,  9,  10.) 

Great  and  solemn  as  is  this  vision,  it  is  not,  however,  a  vision 
of  the  last  judgment  which  occurs  at  the  close  of  the  millennial 
age,  and  brings  the  "  new  heaven  and  earth."  It  is  the  ^les- 
sianic  judgment,  placed  by  all  the  prophets  at  the  end  of  our 
present  age,  when  Gentile  Times  expire  and  new-born  Israel's 
times  begin  in  the  kingdom  of  God  on  earth.  Territorially, 
the  vision  covers,  not  all  the  planet,  but  only  the  sphere  of  the 
empire  of  the  Fourth  Beast,  viz.,  the  old  Roman  territory  from 
the  Euphrates  to  the  British  Isles,  and  from  the  Danube  and 
Rhine  to  the  cataracts  of  the  Nile.  And  even  here,  in  this 
vision,  it  is  not  the  whole  picture  of  the  end  that  is  given,  but  a 
section  only  and  limited  to  the  tribulation  and  high-point,  or 
crisis,  of  the  "  Day  of  Lord  "  when  the  Son  of  Man  appears 
in  the  scene.  To  other  prophets  the  task  was  assigned,  as  to 
Aloses,  Isaiah,  Joel,  Ezekiel,  and  Zechariah,  to  develop  other 
events  occurring  at  this  time,  but  to  Daniel  alone  the  painting 
of  this  one  solemn  portrait  of  the  "Ancient  of  Days  "  and  the 
"  Son  of  Man,"  Each  inspired  artist  executed  the  task  com- 
mitted to  his  hand,  each  painting  his  work  on  separate  canvass 
thenlayingaside  his  pencil  and  brush  and  passing  into  the  peace 
of  Cod.  A  total  view  of  the  "  end  "  requires  a  combination  of 
the  events  in  all  these  separate  pictures,  arranged  in  their  order 
and  relations,  on  one  great  canvass  of  the  future,  a  task  reserved 
for  John,  with  further  developments  and  the  final  finish  of  all. 
It  is  thus  that  the  "  kingdom  "  announced  at  the  close  of  the 
last  1260  days  of  Daniel's  70th  week  (Rev.  x:  7)  in  the  ringmg 
notes  of  the  seventh  angel  (xi:  15)  and  cheered  by  a  voice  from 
heaven,  because  of  Israel's  conversion  (xii:  10,  11),  is  seen  to 
be  one  and  the  same  "  kingdom  "  Avith  that  in  Dan.  ii:  44,  and 
vii:  27,  the  "  kingdom  "  in  Matth.  xxv:  34,  and  to  which  the 
holy  apostle  John — thanks  to  his  pen! — has  given  the  name  of 
"  the  thousand  years."    Rev.  xx:  ;i,  6.    It  is  announced  in  the 


CHAPTER  111.— THE  EOUR  BEASTS.  57 

distinctest  terms,  and  painted  in  the  brightest  colors,  as  the 
millennial  kingdom  on  earth,  mtroduced  by  the  pre-millennial 
coming  of  the  Son  of  Man  in  the  clouds  of  heaven.  Rev.  xiv: 
14;  Matth.  xiii:  3G-43.  If  "  Chiliasm  "  has  been  made  a  name 
offensive  to  so-called  "  Orthodoxy,"  it  is  only  because  God's 
Word  has  first  been  made  offensive  to  interpreters  whose  spir- 
itualizing processes  and  evolutionary  civilization  dislike  the 
picture  of  the  end  as  given  in  the  Scriptures.  What  we  have 
here  in  Dan.  vii.  is 

I.  The  Time  of  the  Judgment.  It  is  at  the  "  end  "  of  the 
70th  week  in  Dan.  ix.  26,  27.  the  close  of  the  Times  of  the  Gen- 
tiles, the  end  of  the  last  1260  days  of  the  Antichrist's  persecut- 
ing reign  as  lord  of  ten  monarchies  in  one,  and  the  holder  of 
Jerusalem,  yet  coming  quickly  to  his  own  "  end  "  with  none 
to  help  him,  Dan.  xi.  45;  Zech.  xiv:  1-5;  Rev.  xiv:  14-20; 
xix:  11-21.  It  closes  the  horn's  career,  Dan.  vii.  21,  22.  The 
final  conflict  terminated  by  this  judgment  includes  the  "  Day 
of  the  Lord  upon  all  nations,"  preceded  by  that  fatal  spell  when 
the  powers  that  be  and  society  at  large,  as  in  Noah's  day,  shall 
be  intent  on  architecture,  commerce,  trade  and  all  domestic 
pleasure,  singing  the  siren  song  of  "  Peace  and  Safety,"  as  did 
the  false  prophets  of  old,  unconscious  that  "  sudden  destruc- 
tion "  is  near,  i  Thess.  v:  3;  Jer.  viii:  11,  15,  16;  xiv:  13;  xxiii: 
17-30.  That  will  be  "^he  Concert  of  Europe  and  the  world!  The 
political  hypocrisy  of  the  time  will  betray  itself  in  this,  that 
while  affecting  arbitration  of  international  disputes,  new  am- 
bitions, new  int-- national  complications,  and  new  oppressions 
and  aggressions  will  be  devised,  the  whole  world  arming  for 
war.  Joel  xiii:  9-1 1.  The  alliances  of  Christian  governments 
with  those  that  are  anti- Christian,  for  the  sake  of  gain,  the  ex- 
tension of  territory,  wealth  and  power,  the  oppression  of  the 
weak  by  the  strong,  the  spectacle  of  massacre  allowed  by 
Christian  nations,  the  hollowness,  the  treachery  to  treaties 
and  to  covenants,  the  concert  of  Christian  powers  in  a  code 
of  international  authority,  founded  neither  on  the  principles  of 
justice  nor  of  humanity,  but  on  the  will  of  the  strongest,  and 
violated  in  the  interests  ot  the  strongest,  will  so  affect,  disgust 


58  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

and  exasperate  mankind,  that,  once  more,  as  in  the  days  of 
Robespierre  and  Voltaire,  Christianity  itself  will  be  scouted  in 
the  circles  of  the  learned,  and  by  the  masses,  and  the  very 
foimdations  of  <ilvil,  social  and  religious  order  be  broken  up. 
Protestantism  can  no  more  accuse  Popery.  At  such  a  time 
the  "  Little  Horn  "  will  come,  and  run  his  career  unchecked 
by  anything  "withholding,"  2  Thess.  ii:  6-12,  till  checked  by 
the  counter-coming  of  the  Son  of  Alan.  That  second  coming 
is  the  glorious,  visible  and  public  Parousia  of  Christ — His 
appearing  in  the  clouds  of  heaven,  as  the  vision  shows,  for 
both  judgment  and  salvation,  its  one  time-point,  the  close  of 
the  Great  Tribulation.  It  is  the  same  time-point  as  in  'Sla.tt. 
xxiv:  29,  31;  40-44;  xxv:  i;  2  Thess.  i:  6,  7;  ii:  1-8;  Rev. 
xi:  15-17;  xix:  11 -21,  and  prior  to  which  heaven  receives  and 
retains  Him  on  His  Father's  throne.  Acts  3:  19-21,  (R.  V.) 
It  is  the  high-point  in  the  "Day  of  the  Lord"  which  begins 
before  ihe  Advent  and  continues  after  it,  the  Day  "in  the  which" 
the  Lord  comes,  and  not  before  it:  Matt,  xxiv:  42,  44,  50; 
Luke  xii:  39,  46;  xvii:  30;  Acts  xvii:  31;  Rom.  ii:  16;  2  Thess. 
i:  10;  2  Tim.  i:  18.  As  in  all  prophecy,  so  here,  Judgment 
and  Salvation  go  together,  "as  it  was  in  the  days  of  Noah," 
and  "of  Lot,"  and  the  "coming  out  of  Egypt." 

The  New  Testament  fills  in  the  details  unmentioned  in 
Daniel's  vision,  viz.,  those  of  international  war  and  strife.  The 
kingdoms  will  have  prepared  for  themselves  the  instruments 
\of  their  own  destruction.  The  logic  of  the  situation  will  have 
caused  already  an  effort  to  reintegrate  the  jarrhig  nations  into 
one  vast  empire,  as  the  best  solution  of  the  problem  of  govern- 
ment, a  world-empire  free  from  Christianity  and  bound  alone 
to  a  religion  ol  humanity,  \n  which  the  world's  lastjeader  will 
be  the  chief  oljjcct  of  worshi]-),  the  world's  new  Alessiah.  The 
temporary  realization  of  that  scheme  with  all  its  wickedness, 
will  provoke  the  last  heaving  of  the  nations  and  call  into  being 
the  "  Day  of  the  Lord."  Supernatural  terrors  will  break  in  on 
the  new  order  of  things,  more  void  of  order  tlian  all  preceding 
times.  "  Heaven,  earth,  sea  and  the  div  land  will  be  shaken." 
Hagg.-ii;  C,  7.    It  will  be  a  time  of  tribulation  and  anguish,  of 


CHAPTER  J II. —THE  FOUR  BEASTS.  59 

slaughter  and  gloom,  and  of  persecution  of  God's  saints,  a 
time  when  the  sickle,  the  flail,  the  fan,  and  the  fire,  will  do  their 
work,  a  time  when  the  harvest  is  ripe,  and  the  vintage  so  full 
that  the  vats  overflow,  "  because  the  wickedness  is  great." 
Joel  iii:  13.  The  struggle  for  supremacy  will  bring  the  "  War 
of  the  Great  Day  of  God  Almighty,"  Rev.  xvi:  14,  when  the 
horn  prevails  against  the  saints  and  seeks  to  build  his  new 
empire  on  the  destruction  of  all  Christianity  in  human  govern- 
ments, and  on  the  extirpation  of  the  Jews.  To  that,  the  king- 
doms of  this  world  will  come,  till  the  Lord  comes  to  destroy 
their  power.  Then,  what  Daniel  saw  in  vision  will  become  a 
fact  in  history,  the  nations  gathered  together  against  Jerusa- 
lem, the  last  Antichrist  playing  his  last  desperate  game  against 
the  Holv  City.  Then,  "the  Son  of  Alan  shall  come  in  His  glory 
and  all  the  holy  angels  with  Him,  and  He  shall  sit  on  the 
throne  of  His  glory,  and  before  Him  shall  be  gathered  all  na- 
tions, Alatth.  XXV :  31;  Zeph.  iii:  8,  Zecli.  xii:  2;  xiv:  1-5;  Ps. 
i:  1-6.  The  reintegration  and  the  rule,  the  fact  that  Gentile 
politics  and  power,  nominally  Christian,  have  come  to  anti- 
Christianity  for  the  sake  of  gain,  and  the  powers  that  be  have 
conspired  to  give  their  strength  to  the  Beast,  not  only  against 
Rome,  Rev.  xvii:  13-16,  but  Jerusalem,  Rev.  xiv:  20,  and  to 
shed  the  blood  of  God's  saints,  will  precipitate  the  last  phe- 
nomena. "  Woe  worth  the  day!  "  Nature  herself  will  shudder, 
and  sun,  moon  and  stars  refuse  to  look  on  the  butchery,  and 
through  the  darkness  that  shrouds  the  hour  the  flash  of  the 
Advent  will  kindle  the  sky,  and  glare  on  the  concert  of  crime 
below,  and  earth's  monarchs,  magnates  and  millionaires,  her. 
statesmen  and  diplomatists,  the  commanders  of  her  armies 
and  fleets  in  all  waters — all  the  great,  rich  and  mighty,  bond 
and  free — will  "  call  on  the  rocks  and  mountains  to  hide  them 
from  the  face  of  Him  who  sits  upon  the  throne,  and  from  the 
Wrath  of  the  Lamb;  for  the  great  day  of  His  wrath  is  come, 
and  who  shall  be  able  to  stand?"  Rev.  vi:  12-17.  The  sixth 
apocalyptic  seal  contains  the  vision  and  judgment  in  Dan.  vii. 
All  the  prophets  look  to  the  "  end  "  and  to  the  second  coming 
of  Christ.     All  look  to  the  "  seventh    trumpet "  and   to    the 


6o  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

"  seven  vials,"  the  last  of  which  ends  the  kingdom  of  the  Horn. 
Dan.  ix:  27;  Rev.  xix:  11-21. 

11.  The  Place  of  the  Judgment.    So  far  as  the  "  thrones  "  are 
concerned  (vii:  9),  it  is  aerial,  in  stormy  and  fire-lit  clouds, 
overhanging  the  earth,  and  visible  to  all.    "  The  heavens  de- 
clare His  righteousness,  for  God  Himself  is  Judge."    Ps.  1:  6. 
The  diurnal  rotation  of  the  planet  on  its  axis  will  make  the 
visibility  a  universal  necessity.     "  Every  eye  shall  see  Him." 
Rev.  i:  7.    But,  so  far  as  the  special  vision  in  Dan.  vii.  has  to 
do  with  the  destruction  of  the  Antichrist  and  his  empire,  and 
Israel's  deliverance,  the  judgment  is  localized  to  the  Holy 
Land.    Dan.  xi:  45;  xii:  i.     Geographically  and  topographic- 
ally the  place  is  defined  by  Moses  as  "  the  land,"  Deut.  xxxii: 
43;  by  Asaph  as  "  Zion,"  Ps.  1:  1-6;  by  Isaiah  as  "  the  land 
of  Judah,"  "  this  mountain,"  and  "  Jerusalem,"  xxv:  7;  xxvi: 
I ;  xlvi:  13-16;  by  Zephaniah  as  "  Jerusalem,"  iii:  8-17;  by  Joel 
as  the  "  Valley  of  Jehoshaphat,"  and  the  "  Valley  of  Decision," 
iii:  11-16;  by  Zechariah  as  "  Jerusalem,"  where  all  nations  are 
gathered,  and  as  the  "  Mount  of  Olives  which  is  before  Jeru- 
salem on  the  east,"  where  the  Lord's  "  feet  shall  stand  in  that 
day,"  xii:  2-8;  xiv:  1-5;  by  Ezekiel  as  the  "  Valley  of  the  Pas- 
scn"-ers,"  the  "  Overim  "  or  "  Crossers-over,"  "  on  the  cast  of 
the  sea,'  the  Mediterranean,— the  great  transit  route    across 
Palestine  from  Carmel  to  the  Jordan,  i.  e.,  the  "  valley  of  Meg- 
iddo,"  and  "  Plain  of  Esdraelon,"  Ezek.  xxxix:  11;  Judg.  iv: 
7;  v:  19;  Zech.  xii:  1 1 ;  by  Daniel  as  the  "  Mountain  of  the 
Beauty  of  Holiness  between  the  seas,"  i.  e.,  Moriah  in  Jerusa- 
lem, between  the  Mediterranean    and  Dead    Seas,  where  the 
mosques  of  Omar  and  El  Aksa  now  stand  amid  the  cypress 
trees,  Dan.  xi:  45;  xii:  i ;  and  by  holy  John  as  "Armageddon." 
Rev.  XV :  15,  16.     These  designations  cover  Galilee,  Samaria, 
Judea,  the  whole  of  Palestine  now  held  by  the  Turk,  as  the 
centre  of  the  final  struggle  between  the  Jews  and  the  Antichrist 
seeking  to  hold  the  land  as  his  own,  and  make  the  Holy  City 
the  capital  of  his  new  empire.    The  last  military  station  of  the 
"  Horn  "  is  at  jcrusalci,  his  last  encampment  the  Holy  Place 
where  once  Jehovah's  temple  stood.    What  scenes  occur  here 


CHAPTER  11 1. -THE  FOUR  BEASTS.  6l 

at  tbi«^  time  when  the  ''  Powers  "  flight  their  last  fi^lit,  and 
Gentile  politics  go  down  to  the  dust,  may  be  read  in  Zech.  xii: 
2-0,  and  xiv:   1-5.      In  Palestine,  the  final  conflict  between 
Judaism    and    New    Born    Lsrael.    and    between    Christianity 
^nd  reinvigorated  Islamism,  in  short,  the  decisive  battle  be- 
tween the  religion  of  Christ  as  a  power  sought  to  be  crushed 
and  all  other  false  religions,  and  between  the  sceptre  of  Christ 
and  all  other  sceptres,  will  be  waged.    And  He  who  ascended 
from  Olivet  in  a  cloud  will  return  in  clouds  to  Olivet.     And 
where  once  "the  kings  of  the  earth  stood  up  and  were  gathered 
together  against  the  Lord  and  His  Anointed  "  (Acts  iv:  24-27), 
they  shall  be  gathered  again,  but  in  a  role  reversed.    The  Holy 
Land,  so  many  times  invaded  by  the  kings  of  the  earth  during 
4,000'years,  and  winning  for  itself  the  title  of  "  the  battlefield 
of  the  kingdom  of  God,"  shall  once  more,  and  for  the  last  time, 
become  the  local  centre  of  the  closing  struggle  in  the  fortunes 
of  the  ancient  people  of  God.    "  In  that  day.  Judah  shall  fight 
at  Jerusalem,"  Zech.  xiv:  14.  and  "  the  Lord  shall  defend  the 
inhabitants  of  Jerusalem,  and  he  that  is  feeble  among  them 
shall  be  as  David,  and  the  house  of  David  as  God,  as  the  angel 
of  the  Lord  before  them."    Zech.  xii:  8.    It  is  then  "  Michael  " 
stands  up  for  the  Jews.    Dan.  xii:  i ;  x:  13;  Rev.  xii:  7.    "And 
the  Lord  shall  go  forth  and  fight  against  those  nations  as  wdien 
He  fought  in  the  day  of  battle.  And  His  feet  shall  stand  in  that 
day  on  the  Mount  of  Olives,  which  is  on  the  east  before  Jerusa- 
lem.    And  the  Lord,  my  God,  shall  come;  all  the  holy  ones 
with  thee!  "    Zech.  xiv:  1-5;  Isa.  xxiv:2i-23;  Ps.  1:  1-6.    And 
so  it  shall  be  that  "  when  the  enemy  invades  the  land  like  a 
flood,  the  breath  of  the  Lord  shall  be  as  a  rushing  stream 
against  him,  and  the  Redeemer  (Israel's  Goel)  shall  come  to 
Zion,  to  the  converts  from  apostacy  in  Jacob,  said  the  Lord." 
Isa.  lix:  19;  Rom.  xi:  26;  Isa.  Ixvi:  5;  Rev.  xix:  11-21;  xiv: 
1-5;  Acts  iii:  19-21  (R.  V.) 

HI.  The  Parties  in  the  Judgment.  Already  mentioned  in 
general,  it  is  necessary  still  to  speak  of  them  in  particular. 
They  are  (i)  the  Fourth  Beast.  (2)  the  Ten  Horns  or  King- 
doms, (3)  the  Little  Horn,  (4)  the  Ancient  of  Days,  (5)  the 


62  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

Angels,  (6)  the  Son  of  Man,  (7)  the  Saints  of  the  Most  High, 
or  the  People  of  the  Saints  of  the  Most  High.  With  the  New 
Testament  development  of  this  vision  by  our  Lord,  in  His 
assignment  of  theChristian  church  to  her  place  alongside  of 
Israel,  in  Daniel's  perspective,  we  have  nothing  here  to  do. 
Matth.  xxiv:  4-15;  xxv:  1-30.  Daniel's  apocalypse  is  wholly 
for  the  Jews,  a  purely  Old  Testament  one.  We  have,  however, 
to  do  with  our  Lord's  development  of  Rome  in  the  same  per- 
spective, given  to  John  in  the  Revelation  by  the  Lord  Him- 
self through  His  angel.  The  Church  is  not  here,  although 
the  period  covered  by  the  horns  is  the  church-period,  and  con- 
stitutes almost  the  entire  interval  of  the  Roman  "  Times  of  the 
Gentiles  "  which  Daniel  locates,  as  we  shall  see,  between  the 
60th  and  70th  week  of  the  seventy  weeks  in  ch.  ix.  The  parties 
in  Daniel  are  the  above-named.  In  the  judgment  of  the  living 
nations,  MatLh.  xxv:  31-46,  and  which  includes  the  judgment 
here  in  Dan.  vii.,  "  these  my  brethren  "  answer  to  "  the  people 
of  the  saints  of  the  ]\Iost  High," — the  144,000  in  Rev.  xiv:  1-5 

As  to  the  "  Fourth  Beast,"  a  word  will  suffice.  Everything 
said  previously  concerning  the  fourth  empire  is  here  applicable. 
It  is  the  Roman  empire,  whose  first  emperor  was  Augustus, 
and  identical  with  the  bloody,  persecuting  beast  in  Rev.  xiii: 
I- 18,  and  xvii:  i-iS,  and  involves  its  whole  history. 

As  to  the  "Ten  Horns."  Everything  said  previously  con- 
cerning the  "  Ten  Toes  "  is  applicable  here,  since  both  are 
identical.  They  are  neither  ten  Ptolemies,  nor  ten  Seleucids, 
the  successors  of  Alexander,  nor  ten  Caesars,  nor  ten  provin- 
cial governors  of  the  empire  in  Nero's  time,  but  are  ten  separ- 
ate, independent  and  contemporaneous  kingdoms  with  their 
kings,  in  Europe,  Asia  and  Africa,  formed  within  the  limits  of 
the  old  Roman  territory,  East  and  \\'est,  in  the  last  days  of 
their  existence.  Nevertheless,  it  is  one  of  the  most  remark- 
able phenomena  in  all  history,  that,  for  1,300  years,  last  past, 
twenty-six  catalogues  of  the  kingdoms  formed  in  the  Western 
empire,  each  catalogue  covering  a  half  century,  show  the  num- 
ber "ten"  as  that  to  which  these  kingdoms,  as  imperial  powers, 
have,  with  few  exceptions,  uniformly  gravitated.     While  this 


CHArrcR  rn.—THE  four  beasts.  C;^ 

is  true,  and  true  to-day,  that  Great  Britain  (including  Egypt), 
part  of  Germany,  France,  Spain,  Portugal,  Austro-Hungary, 
Italy,  Greece,  Turkey,  and  part  of  Russia,  occupy  the  territory 
of  the  old  empire,  yet  good  reasons  exist  for  holding  that  a 
further  distribution  uill  be  made,  by  the  sword  or  by  diplo- 
macy, in  the  time  of  the  "end." 

Among  these  are  the  facts  (i)  that  the  ten  toes  are  identical 
with  the  horns,  and  both  with  the  ten  horns  in  the  Revelation 
by  John;  (2)  that  the  toes,  therefore  the  horns,  lie  not  in  the 
western  territory  of  the  empire  alone,  but  in  the  eastern  as 
well;  (3)  that  in  John  they  appear  discrowned,  quasi-kings, 
wliose  power  has  gone  to  the  Beast  for  a  time  and  special  pur- 
pose, i.t.,  Rome's  destruction;  (4)  the  impossibility  of  showing, 
now,  which  of  all  the  kingdoms  of  Europe,  Asia  and  Africa  the 
final  ten  will  be.  Concede  to  Prcterism  and  Presentism  all 
lliey  afTirmatively  claim  and  can  demonstrate  validly  from  his- 
liory:  that  Nero  was  an  Antichrist,  the  Pope  another,  the  one 
a  pagan,  the  other  an  ecclesiastic,  and  also,  that,  while  the 
Papacy  is  \\'estern  Antichrist,  Islam  is  Eastern,  the  one  ruling 
as  "  Vicar  of  Christ,"  the  other  as  "  the  Shadow  of  God,"  still 
to  Futurism  must  be  allowed  the  unconquerable  answer  that 
the  harlot,  Rome,  the  horns  and  little  horn,  exist  till  Christ 
comes  to  destroy  them,  and  the  Jews  wage  their  last  conflict 
with  the  last  Antichrist,  in  times  immediately  preceding  the 
second  advent.  Therefore,  the  final  distribution  of  the  kmg- 
doms  is  still  before  us.  Remarkable  is  the  statement  of  Ilip- 
polytus.  Bishop  of  Rome,  in  the  second  century,  that  the  ten 
kingdoms  will  be  "  discrowned  "  and  become  "  democracies  " 
at  the  end  of  our  age,  a  conclusion  he  reached  solely  from  Dan. 
ii:  42,  43.  So  Theodoret:  "  In  the  time  of  the  end  ten  kings 
shall  arise  and  one,  who  will  subdue  all,  be  the  demiurge  of 
all  wickedness."  Jerome's  statement  is,  "  We  teach,  therefore, 
what  all  ovn-  ecclesiastical  writers  have  delivered  to  us,  that. 
in  the  end  of  the  world  (age),  when  the  Roman  power  shall 
be  destroyed,  ten  kings  shall  arise,  who  will  divide  the  empire 
among  them,  and  an  eleventh  shall  come,  who  will  uproot 
three,  which  having  been  done,  the  other  seven  will  submit 


64  DANIELS  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

their  necks  to  the  victor's  yoke.  This  is  the  common  inter- 
pretation by  all  ours." 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  one  of  the  types  of  the  last  Anti- 
christ (Antiochus)  rose  out  of  territory  now  occupied  by  the 
Sultan,  while  another (Xero), rose  out  of  territory  now  occupied 
by  the  king  of  Italy.  The  dividing  line,  between  East  and 
West,  ran  ideally,  north  and  south,  through  Belgrade,  cutting 
the  Mediterranean  sea  in  two,  extending  to  Tunis  in  Africa, 
thence  projected  to  the  desert,  Constantinople  the  capital  on 
one  side,  Rome  on  the  other.  Apart  from  this,  and  the  king- 
doms formed  in  the  western  half,  mediaeval  and  modern 
European  history  has  no  explanation.  The  breaking  up 
of  the  western  half  was  completed  by  the  Barbarian  irruption 
upon  it,  from  the  third  to  the  sixth  century,  and  the  formation 
of  the  kingdoms  just  prior  to  the  rise  of  Mohammed.  The 
breaking  up  of  the  eastern  half,  and  its  conquest  by  Moham- 
med II.,  was  effected  in  1453,  when  Constantinople  was  taken, 
and  the  Turk  carhped  on  the  Bosphorus.  Whatever  the  final 
distribution  of  the  ten  kingdoms,  it  is  certain  they  will  repre- 
sent the  whole  culture  and  civilization  of  Europe,  Asia  and 
Africa  in  ail  its  degrees,  within  the  limit  of  the  old  united  em- 
pire; their  conflicting  religions,  different  tongues,  and  govern- 
ments practically  discrowned  by  the  Antichrist,  their  mutual 
rivalries  and  jealousies,  ambitions  and  enmities;  their  inter- 
national commercial  system  the  nammon-sceptre  of  the  last 
itmes;  their  apostasy  from  truth  and  righteousness,  from  free- 
dom, humanity  and  justice;  their  anti-Christianity,  bloodshed 
and  crime.  All  the  questions  that  now  agitate  them,  in  their 
struggle  for  the  mastery, — Pan-IIellenism,  Pan-Slavism,  Anti- 
Semitism,  the  integrity  of  the  Turkish  empire,  the  competition 
of  the  "  Christian  Powers  "  for  control  of  the  trade  of  the  East, 
their  relation  to  the  weaker  and  oppressed  peoples,  race  antag- 
onisms, their  policies,  and,  in  spite  of  Christianity,  their  self- 
ishness and  sinfulness — will  continue  till  the  Lord  comes  to 
"  dash  them  in  pieces,"  and  make  them  "  as  the  chaff  of  the 
summer  threshing  floor." 

IV.     The  Duration  of  the  Judgment.    This  is  nowhere  de- 


CHAPTER  III.— THE  FOUR  BEASTS.  65 

fined  in  the  Scriptures,  unless  we  take  the  close  of  the  Great 
Tiibulation  or  end  ot  the  last  1260  days  of  the  Horn's  career 
as  its  commencing  point,  and  the  close  of  the  1335  days,  as 
its  concluding  ponit:  Dan.  vii:  25;  xii:  12.  Two  months 
and  a  half  exhaust  the  period.  In  a  wide  sense  the  "  Day  of 
the  Lord "  which  begins  before  the  advent  and  continues 
after  it,  is  called  a  "  Day  of  Judgment,"  and  during  it  the  last 
Seals  are  opened,  the  Trumpets  sounded  and  the\'ials  poured 
with  all  their  terrible  phenomena.  But  the  final  Judgment  on 
the  Horn  and  his  allies,  and  the  final  stroke  on  all  Geniile 
politics  and  power  begins  with  the  Advent  itself,  and  must 
close  before  the  "Blessed"  time.  Swift  and  severe,  it  will  be 
a  "  short  work  in  righteousness,"  shaking  together  "  heaven, 
earth,  sea,  dry  land  and  all  nations"  (Hagg.  ii:  6,  7;  Heb.  xii: 
26,  29),  for  the  Lord  will  "finish  the  work  and  cut  it  short  in 
righteousness;  because  a  short  work  will  the  Lord  make  upon 
the  earth,"  Rom.  ix:  28 — "  sudden  destruction,"  i  Thess.  v.  3. 
The  supernatural  phenomena  which  precede,  increase,  in- 
tensify and  melt  into  the  "  Day  of  the  Lord,"  wall  reach  their 
culmination  with  the  Advent  itself.  And,  as  Zechariah  in- 
forms us,  Joshua's  long  day — "  neither  day  nor  night " — will 
be  repeated  in  the  final  crisis.  Zech.  xiv:  6,  7.  The  kingdom  of 
the  Horn  will  be  "  consumed  and  destroyed  unto  the  end." 
Dan.  vii:  26. 

The  solemn  thing  here  is  that  the  "  ten  horns  "  are  all  Chris- 
tian kingdoms  wdiich  have  become  politically,  in  their  govern- 
ments, apostate  from  Christianity,  and  represent  a  civilization 
of  culture  and  mammon,  and  a  policy  of  crime  at  war  with 
moral  righteousness.  They  are  the  "  Powers  "  of  a  hard- 
hearted military  Christendom,  politically  dechristianized,  the 
very  "  horns  "  in  John's  apocalypse  and,  in  their  last  state, 
allies  of  the  Antichrist  in  the  persecution  of  God's  saints.  And 
to  such  an  outcome  present  signs  are  not  wanting.  The  cham- 
pionship, by  Christian  governments,  of  anti-Christianity,  even 
of  an  empire  historically  organized  to  shed  Christian  blood; 
the  championship  of  a  power  whose  chief  sits  at  the  Golden 
Horn  as  the  "  Shadow  of  God,"  "  Lord  of  two  continents," 


\ 


66  DANIELS  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

and  "  Kings  of  Kings,"  to  whom  "  Allah  "  has  committed  the 
rule  of  the  world,  an  Antichrist,  a  hater  of  Christians,  open 
rejecter  of  Christ  as  the  Saviour  of  the  world;  an  impostor 
who  denies  the  deity  of  Christ,  and  the  divine  and  eternal  rela- 
tion of  the  "  Father  "  and  the  "  Son,"  whose  ritual  is  the  stated 
massacre  of  God's  saints,  whose  reward  for  massacre  is  a  sen- 
sual paradise,  whose  alternatives  to  all  mankind  are  the  "  Ko- 
ran or  the  Sword," — is  enough  to  make  the  "  fury  "  of  God 
rise  in  His  face.  Since  the  world  began,  no  greater  crime  has 
been  committed — save  the  crucifixion  of  Christ — than  the  in- 

(troduction  of  this_organized  anti-Christian  power,   in   1856, 
into  the  family  of  civilized  and  Christian  nations  by  the  so"- 
called"  "  Christian  Towers  "  themselves,  at  a  cost  of  300,000 
lives  and     300,000,000  of  money,  and  in  the  face  of  gigantic 
massacres  whose  atrocities  made  the  blood  of  mankind  run 
cold.     And  all  the  more  unutterably  guilty  have  been  the 
"  Powers,"  since  the  suDsequent  massacres  in  i860,  1876  and 
1894-1897,  in  south-eastern  Europe,  Crete,  Greece,  Armenia, 
with  the  slaughter  of  130,000  Christians,  and  a  total  since  1822 
of  162,000,  and  the  destruction  of  the  homes  of  1,000,000  suf- 
ferers, and  the  agonies,  tortures  and  dishonor  of  mothers, 
daughters  and  babes,  have  been  allowed  by  the  "  Powers  "  to 
pass  unavenged — Russia  now  consenting — all  the  "  Christian 
Powers  "  shelling  with  their  fleets  (1897)  defenseless  Chris- 
tians fighting  to  secure  their  freedom  from  the  Turks!     Im- 
measurable, save  by  God  Himself,  is  the  unforgotten  crime  of 
Christendom,  since,  shamelessly  as  openly,  by  "  concert  of  tlie 
Powers  "  the  championship  of  the  "  integrity  of  the  Ottoman 
Empire"  is  justified  by  the  doctrine  of  the  "Balance  of  Power," 
the  "  Peace  of  Europe,"  the  "  Interests  of  Bondholders,"  and 
the  "  Necessities  of  Commerce  and  Trade,"  in  short,  "  Busi- 
ness Interests  "which  England's  Premier  has  told  the  world  are 
"  paramount  to  mere  religious  feeling  and  to  all  considerations 
of  mere  humanitarian  sentiment!"     A  compact  such  as  this, 
by  the  so-called  "  Christian  governments  "  of  Europe,  which 
hereby  prove  themselves  to  be  a  federation  of  stock-jobbing 
companies  of  royal  birth,  intermarried,  wearing-  crowns  pq 


CHAPTER  J II.— THE  FOUR  BEASTS.  67 

their  heads  and  backed  by  standing  armies  and  fleets,  ruling 
the  world,  is  enough  to  excite  universal  anarchy  and  revolu- 
tion, and  is  a  challenge  to  God  to  vindicate  His  Word- 

These  lines  are  not  forgetful  of  Papal  massacres  in  history, 
outstripping  far  the  pagan.  Nor  do  they  decide  the  question 
whether  the  last  anti-Christian  "  Horn  "  shall  be  an  apostate 
Pope  as  many  have  supposed,  or  a  Sultan  as  still  others  think, 
or  "  some  other  man."  It  is  enough  that  the  "  Ten  Horns  " 
have  already  been  formed,  though  not  in  their  final  arrange- 
ment. The  "  what  withholdeth  "  or  "  hinders  "  the  appearing 
of  the  last  Antichrist  in  God's  counsel,  is  the  politically  organ- 
ized Gentile  power,  or  combination  of  civil  powers  professedly 
Christian,  ordained  of  God  "  not  to  bear  the  sword  in  vain." 
but  to  execute  justice,  to  repress  crime,  conserve  in  righteous- 
ness the  civil  and  social  order,  and  promote  the  triumph  of  the 
kingdom  of  God.  False  to  this  high  trust,  their  right  of  ex- 
istence is  forfeited.  When  once  it  is  evident  that  these  "Powers" 
are  instruments  of  oppression  and  persecution,  leagued  to  pro- 
mote injustice,  despotism,  inhumanity,  and  every  evil  work  in 
the  name  of  Christianity,  and  bent  chiefly  on  self-aggrandize- 
ment, increase  of  commerce,  trade,  wealth,  extent  of  territory, 
and  supremacy  each  over  the  other,  the  result  can  only  be  an 
insurrection  of  the  more  and  more  educated  masses,  a  reaction 
against  both  Christianity  and  the  civil  order,  and  an  explosion 
of  universal  revolution.  It  is  then  the  "  foundations  will  be 
destroyed,"  the  "  let  "  removed,  and  the  last  Antichrist  appear. 
Christendom  will  be  responsible  for  it,  and  the  penalty  of  her 
treason  against  the  law  of  God,  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  and  the 
common  orinciplcs  of  natural  justice,  will  be  the  righteous 
annihilation  of  all  Gentile  politics  and  power,  in  the  midst  of 
unparallelea  tribulation  and  distress.  It  is  the  lesson  of  the 
book  of  Daniel. as  of  all  the  prophets,  and  of  John's  apocalypse. 
It  is,  moreover,  the  very  word  of  Christ.  To  modern  rulers 
thus  leagued,  under  the  common  sceptre  of  mammon,  and  to 
all  the  world's  financial  strength,  God  has  said,  "  Your  cove- 
nant with  deatn  snail  be  disannulled,  and  your  agreement  with 
.hell  shall  no-  =rand."    Isa.  xxviii;  18.    As  a  party  in  the  judgT 


68  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

nicnt  the  kingdoms  are  marching  to  their  last  division  and 
their  doom,  and  calling  for  their  last  leader.  The  "  Horns  " 
need  a  master  and  will  find  one  "  in  the  time  appointed." 
"  Bondholders  "  hungering  after  "  dividends,"  and  the  Govern- 
ments in  partnership  with  them  as  their  police,  must  reckon 
with  Him  to  whom  God  will  "  divide  "  a  portion  with  the  great, 
and  he  will  "  divide  "  the  spoil  with  the  strong,  and  the  last 
"  Concert  of  Europe,"  when  the  "  kings  and  princes,  and  the 
chief  captains,  and  the  rich,  and  the  strong  "  shall  invoke  the 
rocks  and  the  mountains  to  "  fall  "  on  them  and  hide  them 
"  from  the  face  of  Him  that  sitteth  on  the  throne,  and  from  the 
wrath  of  the  Lamb."  Rev.  vi:  15-17.  Broken  shall  be  the  whole 
"  commercial  system  "  of  the  world,  now  ruling  all  governments 
and  nations.  Ezek.  xxvii:  1-36;  Rev.  xviii:  1-24;  Isa.  xxiv:  1-2. 
Then  the  Horn  will  be  judged,  and  the  colossus  become  "  as 
the  chaff  of  the  summer  threshing  floor."  A  new  age  will 
heave  into  history,  and  the  "  Kingdom  "  come.  Truth  will 
spring  out  of  the  earth  and  Righteousness  look  down  from 
heaven,  and  here  on  this  present  earth,  as  in  heaven,  God's 
will  shall  be  done.  It  is  the  vision  we  have  been  considering, 
and  the  Vision  is  true,  and  the  interpretation  sure. 


"  When  the  Son  of  Man  shall  come  in  His  glory,  and  all  the  holy 
angels  with  Him,  then  shall  He  sit  upon  the  throne  of  His  glory; 
and  before  Him  shall  be  gathered  all  the  nations;  and  He  shall  separ- 
ate them  one  from  another  as  the  shepherd  separates  the  sheep  from 
the  goats.  And  He  shall  set  the  sheep  on  His  right  hand,  but  the 
goats  on  the  left.  .  .  .  Then  shall  He  say  to  them  on  His  right  hand, 
Come,  ye  blessed  of  my  Father;  inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for 
you  from  the  foundation  of  the  world.  .  .  .  Inasmuch  as  ye  did  it 
unto  one  of  tlicsc  niy  brethren,  even  the  least,  ye  did  it  unto  me.  .  .  . 
Then  shall  He  say  unto  them  on  the  left  hand.  Depart  ye  cursed  into 
everlasting  fire,  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels.  .  .  .  Inasmuch 
as  ye  did  it  not  unto  one  of  flicse  least,  ye  did  it  not  unto  me.  And 
these  (on  the  left)  shall  go  away  into  everlasting  punishment,  but  the 
righteous  (shall  come)  into  life  everlasting." —  Our  Lord. 


(70) 


Chapter  IV. 

DANIEL,  CHAPTER  VII.  (CONTINUED).— THE  LIT- 
TLE HORN.  THE  GREAT  ASSIZE. 

As  to  the  "  Little  Horn,"  in  vii.  8,  ii,  20,  21-26,  it  is  evident 
that  he  is  the  chief  party  among  all  the  criminals  arraigned  in 
the  judgment.  Like  the  rest,  he  is  a  king,  the  head  of  a  king- 
dom, both  S3mbolized  in  one.  Bad  as  the  rest  have  been,  this 
one  is  worse,  transcending  them  all  in  his  crimes.  The  hostil- 
ity of  all  the  ancient  empires  to  Israel  is  here.  The  principles, 
policy,  selfishness,  pride  and  antichristianity  of  all  the  horns 
find  here  their  highest  expression.  He  is  the  product  of  his 
times.  Little  at  first,  yet  he  mounts  to  greatness  among  his 
fellows,  his  first  achievement,  the  subversion  of  "  three  kings  " 
who  stand  in  his  way,  vii:  24.  He  dififers  from  the  rest,  having 
"  eyes,"  the  symbol  of  wisdom,  science  and  circumspection, 
and  of  craft  and  cunning  withal,  a  "  mouth  "  and  "  voice  " 
arrogant  against  the  3Jost  High,  vii:  11,  25,  and  a  "look" 
stouter  than  that  of  his  fellows,  vii:  20.  Ke  "makes  war  with 
the  saints,"  and  for  three  and  a  half  years  "  wears  them  out," 
and  "  prevails  "  against  them,  "changing  their  times  and  laws," 
vii:  21,  25.  He  is  "slain,  destroyed,  his  body  given  to  the  burn- 
ing f.ame,"  and  his  "dominion  consumed  and  destroyed  to  the 
end,"  vii:  11,  26.  In  all  these  reports  he  is  "diverse"  from 
the  rest,"  vii:  23,  24.  If  his  rise  is  rapid,  his  reign  is  short  and 
his  ruin  complete. 

The  different  names  under  which  he  is  known  are  many.  He 
is  "  the  prince  that  shall  come  on  wing  of  abomination,  a  deso- 
lator,"  ix:  26;  the  concluder  of  a  treaty  or  "covenant"  with  the 
masses  of  the  Jewish  people,  for  "  one  week,"  and  breaker  of 
the  same,  permitting  their  ancient  worship,  then  causing  it  to 
cease  in  the  middle  of  the  week,  ix.  27 ;  one  who  sets  up  "  the 

(71) 


72  DANIELS  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

abomination"  that  causes  desolation,  foretold  by  our  Lord, 
Matt.  xxiv.  15;  "  that  wicked  "  in  Isa.  xi.  4;  the  "  enemy  that 
invades  like  a  flood,"  Isa.  lix:  19,  and  whose  end  is  in  the 
"  overflowing,"  Dan.  ix:  26.  27;  He  is  "  the  King  "  who  comes 
to  his  end  at  Jerusalem  with  "  none  to  help  him,"  Dan.  xi.  36. 
45;  he  is  Paul's  "  man  of  sin,"  to  whom  the  apostle  applied  the 
title  given  by  the  Maccabees  to  his  prototype — "  sinful  man," 
a  "  root  of  sin,"  i  Alacc.  i.  10;  ii.  62;  2  Thess.  ii.  3.,  He  is  "  the 
Antichrist  "  of  John,  i  John  ii.  18;  the  personal  "  beast  "  that 
"  ascends  out  of  the  bottomless  pit,"  wars  with  the  saints  and 
slays  the  "  two  witnesses  "  of  Christ,  Rev  .  xi.  7,  3;  "Apollyon," 
the  destroyer,  Rev.  ix:  11 ;  the  "beast"  in  Rev.  xiii:  5,  to  whom 
Satan  gives  his  "  power,  throne  and  great  authority;"  a  mys- 
terious person,  of  whom  it  is  said  that  he  once  "  was  "  on  this 
earth,  but  "  is  not  "  now,  yet  "  shall  ascend  out  of  the  abyss," 
"  be  present,"  then  "  go  into  perdition,  Rev.  xvii.  18,  a  very 
"  son  of  perdition;"  a  "  lawless  one,"  whose  coming  is  with  all 
the  "  energy  of  Satan,"  and  "  with  signs  and  lying  wonders, 
and  Avith  all  deceit  of  unrighteousness  for  them  that  perish," 
teaching  "  the  lie  "  that  both  Christ  and  Christianity  are  a 
fraud,  2  Thess.  ii.  9-12,  and  whom  "  the  Lord  Jesus  shall  slay 
with  the  breath  of  His  mouth,  and  destroy  with  the  brightness 
of  His  coming,"  2  Thess.  ii.  8.  As  by  plucking  up  "  three  "  of 
the  Ten  Horns,  he  thereby  became  "  an  eighth,"  so  is  he  des- 
cribed again  as  "  an  eighth  "  in  Rev.  xvii.  11,  one  who  stands 
out  above  all  his  fellows  in  bad  pre-eminence,  as  not  only  a 
"  Beast  "  and  a  "  Devil,"  but  as  a  "  God,"  sitting  "in  the  temple 
of  God  "  in  Jerusalem,  "  showing  himself  that  he  is  God,"  the 
self-exalting  "opposer"  of  God,  2  Thess.  ii:  4;  Dan.  viii:  11; 
xi.  36,  but  is  a  "  Man  "  whose  secular  and  anti-Sabbatic  mono- 
gram is  "  C66,"  the  number  of  his  name,"  Rev.  xiii.  18.  Such 
the  "  Liuie  Horn  "  Daniel  saw  in  vision — a  Satanic  re-appcar- 
ing  military  leader,  atheist,  antichrist  and  supreme  imperial 
ruler  of  the  last  times,  in  whom,  by  consent  of  the  Horns,  is 
vested  the  whole  power  of  apostate  governments  in  Europe, 
Asia  and  Africa,  within  the  limits  of  the  old  Roman  territory; 
himself  and  his  allies  the  destroyers  of  Rome,  Rev.  xvii.  12-18, 


CHAPTER  ril.-THE  LITTLE  HORN.  73 

and  whose  last  campaign,  following  Rome's  destruction,  is 
his  invasion  of  the  Holy  Land  where  he  comes  to  his  end,  Dan. 
xi.  40-45;  Rev.  xix.  11 -21. 

And  complete  will  be  the  retribution,  unto  ages  of  ages. 
There  is  an  eternity  in  justice,  and  the  protest  of  right  against 
wrong,  of  innocence  and  weakness  against  oppression,  and  the 
call  for  long-delayed  satisfaction,  are  immortal.     No  law  or 
prescription  exempts  from  doom  the  nominally  Christian  yet 
actually    dechristianized    nations    and    governments    of      the 
earth.     It  is  not  possible  that  the  Horn  and  his  hosts  shall 
be  victorious  in  the  "  War  of  the  Great  Day  of  God  Almighty." 
Such  victory  would  be  out  of  harmony  with  the  epoch  of  Judg- 
ment, the  law  of  righteousness,  the  destiny  of  Israel,  and  the 
entrance  of  the  kingdom  of  God.    The  time  has  rome  for  the 
Son  of  MblU  to  overturn  all  Gentile  power  and  crush  the  Horn 
in  whose  brain  now  floats  the  empire,  forever.   Foredoomed  to 
everlasting  punishment  is  the  entire  host  of  antichristianity 
with  their  blaspheming  prince  at  their  head.     Israel's  victory 
is  assured.    The  overthrow  of  the  Antichrist  and  his  hosts  be- 
fore the  Son  of  ^lan  is  tragic.     The  hissing  thunder  bolt,  the 
lightning,  the  bedazzlement,  the  shock,  the  brimstone  as  at 
Sodom,  the  darkness  as  in  Egypt,  the  driving  hail-stone  a 
talent's  weight,   the   earthquake   dividing  the   mountain,   the 
vertigo,  the  reeling  as  when   Saul   fell  from  his  horse,  the 
plague, the  panic,  the  prayer  to  the  rocks,  the  mutual  slaughter, 
these  will  be  effective,  the  symbols  of  a  severer  and  longer 
punishment.     How  insignificant  the  armies  of  the  earth,  and 
impotent  the  vain  eruptions  of  the  horn  "in  that  day!"  Alan 
plays  a  small  part  in  such  a  scene.     In  such  a  crisis,  freighted 
with  loss  to  all  Gentile  power, and  with  victory  to  God's  people, 
lies  the  "  Progress  of  the  Nations,"  the  "  Peace  of  the  World," 
and  the  "  Triumph  of  the  Kingdom  of  God."     It  scandalizes 
the  diplomacies  of  courts,  and  mocks  the  coalition  of  kings. 
This  Horn  is  the  Hero  of  the  "  Great  Tribulation  "  foretold 
not  only  by  Daniel,  vii.  25;  xii.  i,  but  also  by  Moses,  Deut. 
xxxii.   36-43;   Balaam,   Numb.   xxiv.  23,   Isaiah,  xxvi.    13-21, 
Jeremiah,  xxx.  7,  our  Lord,  Alatth.  xxiv.  15-21  (and  parallels), 


74 


DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 


by  Paul,  2  Thess.  i:  6.  7;  ii:  8-12;  and  fully  pictured  by  John, 
Rev.  iii:  8.  9;  vi:  9-1 1;  vii:  14;  xi:  2,  7;  xii:  6,  12.  14.  17;  xiii: 
I- 18;  xiv.  12;  XX.  4.  It  will  be  a  tribulation  sorer  than  any  yet 
preceding  under  Alanasseh,  Antiochus,  Nero,  the  Caliphs  and 
Popes,  or  Sultans  of  modern  days,  a  time  of  world-wide  trial 
and  sore  temptation  for  the  people  of  God,  a  time  of  suffering, 
death  and  martyrdom  for  Jesus'  sake,  a  time  "  such  as  never 
was  since  there  was  a  nation,  even  to  that  same  time,"  Dan. 
xii:  I,  ''such  as  never  was  since  the  beginning  of  the  world, 
no,  nor  ever  shall  be,"  Matth,  xxiv:  21.  By  such  intense  ex- 
pressions, so  indescribably  solemn,  and  full  of  faithful  warning, 
we  learn  the  unparelleled  importance  of  this  epoch  for  the 
Kingdom  of  God.  It  is  the  crisis  of  the  Kingdom  of  Christ 
in  its  final  struggle  with  the  apostate  powers  of  the  earth,  and 
with  the  kingdom  of  Satan  under  the  lead  of  the  last  Antichrist. 
Nor  are  the  indications  of  its  approach  obscure.  "  Coming 
events  cast  their  shadows  before."  When  the  so-called 
"  Christian  Powers,"  the  "  Horns"  in  their  present  distribution, 
are  in  concert  with  antichristianity  for  the  sake  of  gain,  and 
Mammon  sways  the  sceptre  over  moral  righteousness,  and 
national  churches,  the  stalled  stipendiaries  of  the  State,  have 
become  a  salt  that  is  savorless,  powerless  to  compel  their  rulers 
to  enforce  justice,  or  defend  the  inalienable  rights  of  man 
grounded  in  his  personality,  or  protect  tlie  saints  of  God  from 
massacre,  when  the  kings  and  rulers  of  the  earth  and  Christian 
governments  panoplied  for  war,  arc  partners  with  Alammon  in 
orgies  of  blood  for  selfish  ends,  binding  oppression  on  the 
necks  of  the  poor,  seeking  by  force  to  wrench  from  the  weak 
their  lawful  possessions,  the  heart  steeled  to  human  sympathy, 
the  ear  deaf  to  every  appeal  for  help,  and  conscience  dead,  it 
is  only  a  step  or  two  till  Sin  comes  to  its  height,  and  Sin's  last 
leader  must  appear.  International  politics  will  generate  events 
subversive  of  all  existing  international  relations,  and  create 
new  alliances  and  new  combinations  leading  up  to  the  final 
crisis  no  summer  sunshine  nor  pleasing  landscape  in  nature 
can  avert.  The  "  Day  of  the  Lord  "  will  steal  in  like  a  thief, 
and  the  "  Great  Tribulation  "  come.     Viewed  from  a  human 


CHAPTER  JII.—THE  LITTLE  HORN.  75 

standpoint,  it  can  only  be  the  necessary  evolution  of  modern 
statecraft,  a  Nemesis  the  apostate  powers  have  vainly  hoped 
to  avoid.  From  the  Divine  standpoint,  it  means  the  Judgment 
of  the  world. 

God's  true  people  everywhere  will  be  called  to  their  best  wit- 
ness-bearing and  most  honored  trial  of  their  patience  and  faith 
in  behalf  of  Christ.  Intensity  of  suffering,  however,  will  not 
avail  to  divert  them  from  their  fidelity.  As  in  Manasseh's  day, 
in  Maccabean  times,  in  Nero's  day,  in  Moslem  and  Papal 
times,  and  as  in  Bulgarian,  Armenian  and  Cretan  times,  so, 
once  more,  will  their  steadfast  love,  their  endurance  and  mar- 
tyrdom only  prove  that  He  who  calls  them  to  such  a  trial 
has  "  counted  them  worthy  of  the  kingdom  of  God,"  2  Thess. 
i.  5.  The  patriot's  consecration  of  his  life  as  an  offering  on  the 
altar  of  his  country  will  be  more  than  surpassed  by  that  ardor 
of  love  for  Christ  wdiich  will  make  His  saints  "  rejoice  "  even 
to  be  "  killed  all  the  day  long  "  for  His  sake,  and  to  "  glory  in 
tribulation,"  Rom.  viii.  36.  "  Here  is  the  patience  of  the 
saints."  "  Here  are  they  who  keep  the  commandments  of 
God  "  in  opposition  to  the  orders,  and  "  hold  fast  the  testimony 
of  Jesus  "  in  opposition  to  '*  the  lie,"  of  the  Antichrist,  Rev. 
xii:  17;  xiii:  10;  xiv:  12.  Divine  grace  supports  their  souls  with 
strength  according  to  their  day,  and  confirms  their  faith  by 
rich  promises  of  glory  and  honor  made  to  the  overcomer,  by 
the  example  of  Christ,  the  memories  of  the  past,  the  sealing  of 
the  Spirit,  the  election  of  God  and  the  certain  knowledge  that 
the  Coming  of  the  Lord  is  near.  The  sweetest  of  all  the  notes 
they  will  sing  is  this: 

"  Oh,    what,  if  we  are  Christ's, 
Is  earthly  shame  or  loss? 
Bright  shall  the  crown  of  glory  be 
When  we  have  borue  the  cross." 

As  to  the  "  Ancient  of  Days,"  literally  "  One  ancient  in  res- 
pect of  Days,"  older  than  all  the  late-made  gods  of  the  heathen, 
transcending  all  time,  He  is  "Jehovah"  Himself,  the  Eternal, 
in  the  absolute  Unity  of  His  essence,  God.  It  is  He  ,  according 


76  DANIEL'S  GREAT  rROPHECY. 

to  Old  Testament  representation,  who  constitutes  the  Judg- 
ment (i)  by  descending  from  heaven  to  earth,  (2)  by  placing 
the  thrones,  (3)  by  seating  the  judges  upon  them,  (4)  by  open- 
ing the  books.  The  white  garment  denotes  His  majesty,  rank, 
holiness,  righteousness;  the  white  hair  His  antiquity,  even 
Eternity;  the  throne  of  enveloping  flame  His  avenging  justice; 
the  revolving  wheels  of  fire  the  rapidity  of  His  advancing 
judgments,  and  the  stream  of  radiating  flame  the  persistence 
of  His  judicial  activity  till  His  strange  work  is  done.  It  is 
said,  He  "  did  sit,"  but  only  after  He  "  came,"  vii:  9,  22.  This 
is  of  first  importance  for  the  interpretation,  as  we  shall  pre- 
sently see.  It  was  not  needful  to  say  that  the  "  Ancient  of 
Days  "  came  "  in  clouds  "  since  that  is  the  Old  Testament  view 
of  the  descent  of  Jehovah  to  judge  the  nations  and  His  people. 
He  is  always  spoken  of  as  "coming  down"  in  glorious  epiphany 
with  fire-flame  and  "  in  clouds,"  and  attended  by  "  angels," 
Exod.  xix:  16;  Ps.  xlvii:  6;  Zech.  ix:  14;  Isa.  xxvii:  13;  Exod. 
iii:  2;  xix:  18.  "  He  bowed  the  heavens  also  and  came  dozuii," 
Ps.  xviii:  9-15.  He  "  came  dozvn  on  Mount  Sinai,"  Exod.  xix: 
16-20.  He  "  rideth  into  Egypt  on  a  swift  cloud,"  Isa.  xix:  i. 
"  Our  God  shall  come  and  not  keep  silence:  a  fire  shall  devour 
before  Him,"  Ps.  1:  1-5.  The  same  is  said  of  Jesus  Christ  in 
the  New  Testament,  i  Cor.  iii:  13;  2  Thess.  i:  7-10;  Matth. 
xxiv:  30;  Rev.  1:7;  xiv:  14.  Here,  in  Daniel's  vision,  it  is  God 
the  father,  the  "Aged  One,"  who  first  descends,  and  consti- 
tutes the  judgment  in  the  cloud-region  overhanging  the  earth. 
He  "  sits  "  in  flame  and  storm. 

As  to  the  Judges  who  sit  on  the  thrones,  the  vision  is  silent, 
because  the  New  Testament  church  was  not  yet  a  fact  in  his- 
tory, although  there  is  enough  in  the  Old  Testament,  else- 
where, to  indicate  who  some  of  the  Judges  are,  Ps.  1:5.  It 
is  in  the  New  Testament,  however,  we  learn  without  mistake 
who  the  co-assessors  are.  In  the  Revelation  to  John  which 
developes  the  Judgment-Scene  in  Daniel,  the  Second  Coming 
of  Christ  is  placed  under  the  Seventh  Trumpet  and  after  the 
Sixth  \'ial,  at  which  time  the  resurrection  of  the  holv  dead 
occurs,  Rev.  xi:  15-17;  xvi:  15,  16,  therefore  before  the  judg- 


CHAPTER  III.— THE  LITTLE  HORN.  -^j 

ment  upon  the  Antichrist,  the  Beast.  It  is  immediately  before 
the  final  slaughter  in  the  valley  of  Jehoshaphat,  "  outside  the 
city,"  the  reaping  of  the  holy  living  ones  by  holy  angels,  and 
the  rapture  of  the  saints,  occur,  just  before  the  Seventh  \'ial 
is  poured  out.  Rev,  xiv:  14-16,  17-20.  It  is  therefore  at  the 
close  of  the  Antichrist's  1260  days  the  Advent  occurs.  The  same 
representation  is  given  in  2  Thess.  ii:  1-3,  and  in  ]\Iatth.  xxiv: 
29-31,  40,  41;  xxv:  I.  In  Daniel  the  same  order  of  events  is 
seen.  The  resurrection  of  the  holy  dead  at  the  Second  Coming 
of  Christ  occurs  at  the  close  of  the  last  1260  days,  the  end  of 
the  "  Great  Tribulation,"  Dan.  xii:  i;  vii;  13.  Then,  just  prior 
to  the  last  stroke  of  judgment  is  the  "  gathering  "  of  God's 
saints  by  angelic  ministry,  Ps.  1:  1-5;  Alatth.  xxiv:  29;  2  Thess. 
ii:  i;  I  Thess.  4:  14-18.  Clear,  therefore,  it  is  that  the  co-asses- 
sors in  the  "Great  Assize,"  Dan.  vii:  9,  are  the  Risen  and 
Glorified  Saints,  since  the  "  thrones  "  on  which  they  sit  in  Rev. 
XX :  4,  are  the  same  "  thrones  "  Daniel  saw  in  vii.  9.  Paul 
declares  "the  saints  shall  judge  the  world,"  i  Cor.  vi:  2,  his 
authority  being  the  text  in  Dan.  vii:  9. 

As  to  the  Angels,  the  whole  angelic  world  is  here  as  "  ex- 
ecutors "  of  the  Judgment  by  the  Son  of  Man,  Jude  14.  15. 
Their  innumerable  number  is  given  as  10,000  times  10,000 
and  thousands  of  thousands,"  Dan.  vii:  10;  at  the  very  least 
204,000,000,  but  more,  since  the  extent  of  the  multiplication 
is  impossible,  "  a  multitude  that  no  maa  can  number,"  Rev. 
v:  11;  vii:  9;  Heb.  xii:  22,  because  of  the  indefinite  terms 
"thousands  of  thousands."  All  these,  seen  standing  before  the 
throne,  wait  on  the  "Ancient  of  Days  "  to  minister  judgment 
on  the  allied  millions  of  the  "Horn,"  "  angels  of  might."  2 
Thess.  i:  7.  Already  they  have  reaped  the  righteous,  and  now 
stand  ready  to  reap  the  wicked,  and  "  take  out  of  the  kingdoM 
all  things  that  offend  and  them  that  do  iniquity,"  ]\Iatth.  xiii : 
41.  Gabriel  is  there,  and  ]\Iichael  is  there,  erect  for  Israel  in 
the  last  crisis,  Dan.  xii:  i;  Rev.  xii:  7,  and  Raphael,  Israfil, 
Ithuriel  and  Uriel  standing  in  front  of  the  light  of  the  sun, 
Rev.  xix:  17.  Over  against  the  wailing  concert  of  Europe  the 
embattled  hosts  of  God  will  stand,  ready  to  make  the  last 


y8  DANIELS  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

charge  with  "  hghtnings  and  thunders,"  '"  hailstones  a  talent's 
weight,"  "  snares,  fire,  brimstone  and  a  horrible  tempest,  the 
portion  of  the  wicked,"  and  turning  the  swords  of  the  wicked 
"  against  themselves,"  will  approve  the  righteous  judgment 
of  God.  Solemnly  they  will  intone  the  words,  "  Righteous  art 
Thou,  O  Lord,  who  wast  and  shall  be,  because  Thou  hast 
thus  judged;  for  they  have  shed  the  blood  of  saints  and  of  pro- 
phets, and  Thou  hast  given  them  blood  to  drink!  "  Rev.  xvi: 
5.  6.  "Fowls  of  the  air,  come,  gather  yourselves  together  to  the 
supper  of  the  great  God,  that  ye  may  eat  the  flesh  of  kings 
and  of  captains,  of  mighty  men,  of  horses  and  riders,  free  and 
bond,  small  and  great!"  Rev.  xix:  17,  18.  This  is  apostate 
Christendom's  cup! — blood  for  blood,  massacre  for  massacre, 
the  righteous  judgment  of  God,  the  end  forever  of  bloodshed 
and  war! 

The  solemnity  of  the  scene  is  augmented  by  the  fact  that 
"  the  Books  were  opened,"  Dan.  vii:  10.  These  "  Books  "  are 
the  records  of  the  crimes  of  the  Horn,  the  Beast  and  his  allies, 
the  sins  of  the  ten  confederate  kingdoms  of  the  last  times  in 
Europe,  Asia  and  Africa,  and  the  sins  of  which  they  are  heirs 
at  law,  the  sins  of  misgovernment,  the  sins  committed  against 
the  saints  of  God.  Wherever  else  the  Judgment  will  strike  so 
far  as  this  particular  scene  is  concerned,  it  strikes  the  nations 
of  Christendom  within  the  limits  of  the  old  Roman  territory 
ruled  by  the  Horn.  They  are  the  records  of  the  living  nations, 
of  the  kings,  judges  and  rulers  of  the  earth,  Ps.  ii:  10,  who 
have  taken  counsel  against  the  Lord  and  His  Anointed,  Ps.  ii: 
2, — the  books,  papers,  files  of  their  Gentile  cabinets,  their  con- 
cert and  their  ruptures,  their  treaties  and  diplomacies,  their 
guilty  apathy,  procrastination  and  venality  when  action  was 
demanded  in  vindication  of  the  right,  their  deeds,  words,  joint- 
notes,  protocols  and  scheming  policies,  the  motives  of  all  sup- 
porting or  opposed  to  the  Horn.  They  are  the  archives,  angel- 
kept,  wherein  are  registered  the  noon-day  iniquities  and  secret 
midnight  work  and  devices  of  the  "  Powers,"  whose  conduct 
paved  the  way  for  the  "  Great  Tribulation,"  and  made  imper- 
ative a  judgment  to  punish,  in  order  to  save,  the  nations  an4 


CHAPTER  I'll.— THE  LITTLE  HORN.  yq 

rescue  the  kingdom  of  God  from  extinction.  The  whole  his- 
tory of  the  Last  Times  is  here:  the  encouragement  of  anti-, 
Christianity  for  the  sake  of  gain,  the  coaHtion  of  Christian^ 
governments  with  the  guilds  of  Mammon  against  justice, 
iiuth,  religion,  humanity  and  liberty;  their  covenants  made 
and  broken;  their  rivalries  and  envies,  highway  robbery  and 
rapacity;  their  greed  of  gold  and  lust  of  supremacy;  their  de- 
fiance of  Christian  sentiment  and  of  every  appeal  to  virtue; 
their  despotism,  pride,  misgovernment,  duplicity,  oppression 
of  the  weak  and  guilty  trade  with  the  strong,— and  most  of  all, 
their  shedding  of  innocent  blood.  All  are  here  recorded  with 
a  pen  unerring.  Xo  injustice  is  forgotten,  no  massacre  or  de- 
vastated homes,  no  crimsoned  fields  strewn  with  the  upturned 
faces  of  the  dead.  Nor  is  the  name  of  one  who  took  part  in 
producing  such  scenes,  or  consented  to  the  wrongs  that  begat 
them,  misspelled,  or  the  place  of  his  residence  misread.  The 
whole  apostasy  of  Christendom,  the  Horn's  loud-mouthed 
arrogance  and  the  words  of  the  cry,  "  We  will  not  have  this 
man  to  reign  over  us,"  are  written  in  the  "  Books,"  and  judg- 
ment by  the  records  must  pass  on  the  kingdoms  whose  boast 
was  their  Christianity,  culture,  civilization.  Such  the  solemn 
scrutiny. 

Our  Lord's  description  of  the  separation  of  the  nations 
gathered  against  Jerusalem,  and  the  decision  that  fixes  the 
destiny  of  their  individuals,  according  to  their  conduct  toward 
convertc^Jsrael  in  the  tribulatiqiTiJeaves  little  doubt  that  the 
"throne  of  His  glory"  at  that  time  will  overhang  the  Alount 
of  Olivet,  facing  Jerusalem,  where  the  delivered  Jews  will  be 
gathered  nearest  to  Himself.  Geographically,  northward  to- 
ward the  mountains,  on  the  right,  the  "  righteous,"  while 
southward,  on  the  left,  through  the  valleys  of  Hinnom  and 
Jehoshaphat,  and  toward  the  Dead  Sea,  the  "wicked,"  will 
be  congregated.  The  scene  in  ^latth.  xxv:  31-46,  is  but  the 
development  of  the  scenes  in  Joel  iii:  12-17;  Zech.  xiv:  1-5. 
As  to  the  "  Son  of  ^vlan"  (Bar  Enash),  to  whom  the  "An- 
cient of  Days  "  commits  this  judgment,  modern  criticism  has 
attempted  to  show  that  the  expression,  "  One  like  a  Son  oi 


8o  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

]\Ian,"  imports  no  more  than  a  figure  of  speech,  "  personified 
Israel,"  or  "  the  personified  people  of  the  Saints";  at  best  the 
abstract  "  idea  "  that  the  kingdom  of  the  Saints  will  be  humane 
in  contrast  with  the  beastly  kingdom  of  the  Horn.  By  such 
means  the  doctrine  of  the  literal,  personal  Advent  of  Christ 
to  gather  His  Saints,  redeem  Israel,  destroy  the  Antichrist, 
judge  the  nations  and  introduce  the  millennial  age,  is  sought 
to  be  set  aside,  and  His  Second  Coming  declared  a  spiritual 
one,  already  a  fact  in  history.  This  dust  is  easily  swept  away. 
The  word  "  like  "  in  no  way  denies  a  proper  personality,  but 
simply  states  in  what  form  the  object  seen  in  the  vision  ap- 
peared to  the  Seer.  So  the  Chaldean  king  saw  "  four  men  " 
walking  in  the  furnace,  and  "  the  form  of  the  fourth  was  like  to 
a  Son  of  God,"  Dan.  iii:  25.  In  the  one  a  human,  in  the  other 
a  superhuman  or  Divine  personality  is  seen,  and  these  two  are 
one.  Our  Lord's  identification  of  Himself  under  the  most 
solemn  adjuration  before  the  supreme  council  of  his  nation, 
with  the  "  Son  of  2\Ian  "  in  this  vision,  and  as  "  coming  in 
the  clouds  of  heaven,"  ]\Iatth.  xxvi:  63-67,  and  again  as  the 
"  Son  of  Alan,"  to  whom  the  "  Father  hath  committed  all 
judgment,"  John  v:  22,  2t^,  and  the  whole  New  Testament  use 
of  this  phrase  when  dealing  with  the  "  Last  Things,"  Alatth. 
xvi:  27;  xxiv:  30,  31;  xxvi:  64;  Acts  i:  9-1 1;  Rev.  i:  7;  xiv: 
14,  rebukes  sufficiently  this  assault  on  the  vision  which  is  the 
Old  Testament  source  of  the  title  .  The  glorious  person  who 
appears  in  the  scene  is  none  other  than  the  son  of  Alary,  son 
of  David,  son  of  Abraham,  the  incarnate,  crucified,  exalted 
Son  of  God,  Israel's  own  Alessiah,  the  Redeemer  of  the  world 
and  Judge  of  all  mankind. 

The  Sanhedrin  and  the  whole  Jewish  nation  so  understood 
it.  Before  the  Lord  made  use  of  the  title  the  "  Book  of 
Enoch  "  called  Alessiah  "  Bar  Anani,"  the  "  Son  of  a  Cloud." 
The  Targum  of  Jonathan  called  Him  "  Bar  Xibli,"  the  "  Son 
of  a  "Cloud."  Jacchides  said,  the  "  Son  of  Alan  in  the  clouds 
is  Alessiah  our  Righteousness."  To  the  question,  who  is  Bar 
Enash  (the  Son  of  Alan),  Rabbi  Simeon  answered,  "  He  is 
Alessiah  of  whom  it  is  said,   He  came  with  the   clouds  of 


CHAPTER  I'll.— THE  LITTLE  HORN.  8i 

heaven."  It  was  to  Him,  a  frail  man,  yet  begotten  by  the  Holy 
Ghost  and  born  of  the  virgin,  Jehovah  said,  "  Sit  thou  at  my 
right  hand,"  Ps.  ex:  i.  David's  son  was  David's  Lord,  God 
and  Man,  two  natures  in  One  Person  forever!  It  is  He  who 
comes  to  judge  the  Horn,  the  nations  and  the  world,  and  de- 
liver Israel  from  the  grasp  of  the  last  Antichrist, —  their  own 
"  Kinsman-Redeemer  "  and  royal  "  Brother  "  according  to 
the  flesh. 

Post-millennialists  have  undertaken  to  show  that  the  Judg- 
ment-Scene here  "  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  Second  Advent." 
They  take  their  stand  on  the  preposition  "  /o  "  in  the  verse, 
"  One  like  a  Son  of  ^lan  came  with  the  clouds  of  heaven,  and 
came  to  the  Ancient  of  Days,  and  they  (the  clouds)  brought 
him  near  before  Him,"  vii:  13,  and  maintain  that  what  is  here 
meant  is  the  Ascension  of  Christ  in  clouds  "  to  "  the  Father 
at  the  close  of  His  First  Advent  and  ministry.  By  this  means 
it  is  hoped  to  destroy  "  the  doctrine  of  the  pre-millennial  com- 
ing of  Christ."  It  is  clearly  seen  that  the  "  Kingdom,"  as  pre- 
dicted, comes  to  victory  on  the  earth  and  is  given  to  the  Son, 
vii:  14,  and  the  Saints,  vii:  2"/,  only  after  the  Son  has  "  come 
with  the  clouds  of  heaven,"  and  that,  if  by  this  coming  the 
Second  Advent  is  meant,  the  doctrine  of  the  pre-millennial 
advent  of  Christ  is  irrefutable  as  the  word  of  God.  The  effort, 
therefore,  is  to  show  that  by  the  expression,  "  came  to  the 
Ancient  of  Days,"  is  meant  the  Ascension  from  the  Mount  of 
Olives,  A.D.  33,  and  that  the  kingdom  of  the  "  1000  years  " 
dates  from  that  event.  The  argument  is  as  plausible  as 
the  ignorance  of  biblical  prophecy  is  palpable.  As  already 
stated.  Old  Testament  prophecy  always  represents  "  Jehovah," 
the  absolute  God,  as  ''coming  dozi'n  "  from  His  throne  far  above 
all  heavens  to  the  cloud  region  overhanging  the  earth,  to  hold 
Judgment.  It  is  He  who  "  descends  "  and  makes  the  fire-lit 
thunder-heaps  His  throne.  The  peculiarity  of  the  amazing 
Scene  in  Dan.  vii:  is  this,  that  neither  the  name  "Jehovah," 
nor  the  name  "  God  "  is  employed,  but  that  two  parties,  the 
Father,  or  "  Aged  One,"  i.e.,  the  "  Ancient  of  Days,"  and  the 
•'  Son  of  Man,"  who  by  His  relation  to  the  Father  is  also  the 


82  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

Son  of  God,  appear  in  the  same  Judgment  at  the  end  of  the 
1260  days  of  the  Horn's  career,  vii:25,  27;  xii:  7.  The  vision 
assumes  the  incarnation  or  birth  of  Christ  foretold  in  ix:  25, 
His  crucifixion  in  ix:  2^,  and  His  ascension  to  the  Father's 
throne,  from  where,  long  concealed,  He  now  appears  revealed. 
It  is  the  Second  Advent  of  Christ  that  is  first  made  known  to 
Daniel,  since  only  then  is  the  kingdom  given  to  Israel.  Though 
using  the  phrase,  "  Ancient  of  Days,  the  prophet  remains 
true  to  Old  Testament  representation — rather  the  vision  does 
— and  presents  the  Father  as  first  of  all  descended  to  Judgment 
in  clouds  overhanging  the  earth,  angels  attending.  The  new 
thing  Daniel  beheld  was  the  entry  of  "  One  like  a  Son  of  ^lan  " 
into  the  same  scene,  also  coming  with  the  clouds  of  heaven, 
and  coming  "  to  "  where  the  Ancient  of  Days  was  already 
seated,  viz.,  over  the  earth,  both  angels  and  clouds  bringing 
him  "  near  before  Him."  And  this  in  order  that  then  and 
there  "  dominion  "  involving  judgment  might  be  given  to  the 
Son,  and  a  "  kingdom  "  besides.  It  was  needless  to  tell  a 
Hebrew  that  this  coming  "  to  "  where  the  "  Aged  One  "  sat 
was  the  Return  from  heaven  to  earth  of  a  "  Son  of  Man,"  born 
of  woman,  and  previously  exalted  to  the  highest,  even  the 
heavenly  throne.  The  preposition  "  to  "  is  a  perfectly  correct 
text,  and  so  far  from  teaching  the  Ascension  of  Christ,  is  abso- 
lutely indispensable  to  establish  the  fact  that  here  the  Second 
Advent  is  meant.  Such  the  way  the  Holy  Spirit  taught  Old 
Testament  saints  the  great  truth  that  by  the  Father's  will  the 
"  Son  of  Man  "  exalted  to  heaven,  should  return  to  judge  the 
world.  If  in  the  New  Testament  the  "  Aged  One  "  is  not  seen 
in  the  Advent  visions,  it  is  because  the  "  Son  of  Alan  "  was 
already  in  the  world,  and  appealed  to  this  very  vision,  saying, 
"  The  Father  judgeth  no  man,  but  hath  committed  all  judg- 
ment to  the  Son,"  and  "  hath  given  Him  authority  to  execute 
judgment  also,  because  He  is  the  Son  of  Man,"  John  v:  22,  2/. 
"Behold,  He  cometh  with  clouds  and  every  eye  shall  see  Him," 
Rev.  i:  7.  Therefore  does  the  "  Chiliastic  doctrine  "  stand,  im- 
pregnable' as  the  truth  of  God,  confirmed  by  the  mouth  of 
Christ  Himself,  and  by  both  Testaments. 


CHAPTER  III.— THE  LITTLE  HORN.  83 

What  we  have  here,  therefore,  is  the  glorious  King  of  the 
Fifth  Kingdom  to  succeed  ah  others,  and  be  succeeded  by 
none.  In  prophecy,  kingdoms  are  defined  by  the  titles  of  their 
founders.  "  The  great  Beasts  are  four  kings  that  shall  arise," 
vii:  17,  Nebuchadnezzar,  Cyrus,  Alexander  and  Caesar,  "  The 
ten  Horns  are  ten  kings  that  shall  arise,"  vii:  24,  the  monarchs 
of  the  last  days.  "  The  little  Horn  is  another  that  shall  arise 
after  them,"  vii:  24.  So  does  the  "  Son  of  Alan  "  appear  in  the 
vision  as  the  Founder  of  the  Fifth  Kingdom,  the  successor  of 
the  four,  a  kingdom  universal  over  all  the  earth,  unsucceeded 
and  everlasting.  It  is  the  Kingdom  of  the"  Son  of  Alan  "  in 
victory  at  His  Second  Coming.  All  the  solemn  scenery  sur- 
rounding the  "Ancient  of  Days"  surrounds  the  "Son  of  Alan." 
It  is  the  Monarch  of  the  Fifth  Empire  we  have  here,  who 
comes  in  the  clouds  of  heaven,  seated  in  royal  splendor  and 
solemn  pomp  on  the  "  throne  of  His  glory,"  Alatth.  xxv:  31, 
angels  His  escort,  encircling  flame  His  illumination.  Flashes 
of  glory  alternate  with  blackness  of  midnight,  attended  bv 
trumpet,  storm,  fire  and  deep-rolling  thunder.  It  is  as  a 
Warrior  and  Judge  that  Daniel  sees  Him.  He  comes,  not  to 
consume  the  nations,  but  the  wicked  among  them,  who  know 
not  God  nor  obey  the  gospel  of  His  Son,  to  smite  the  Anti- 
christ, destroy  the  Horns,  their  governments  and  dynasties, 
wipe  out  all  Gentile  politics  and  power,  make  the  Colossus  as 
"the  chaff  of  the  summer  threshing-floor,"  and  set  up  His  own 
kingdom  in  righteousness  and  peace,  wide  as  the  world,  all 
crowns  on  His  head  and  on  the  heads  of  His  saints.  It  is  what 
we  have  in  Psalms  ii:  and  Ixxii:,  and  in  the  thrilling  group  that 
ends  with  "  Old  Hundred!" 

As  to  the  last  party  named  in  the  Judgment-Scene,  they  are 
called  the  "Saints,"  with  whom  the  Horn  "makes  w'ar,"  vii: 
21,  25,  the  "  Saints  of  the  Alost  High  "  who  receive  the  king- 
dom, and  possess  the  kingdom  forever,  even  forever  and  ever," 
vii:  18,  22,  the  "  People  of  the  Saints  of  the  Alost  High,"  to 
whom  is  given  the  kingdom  and  the  greatness  of  the  kingdom, 
not  in  a  super-earthly  or  celestial  sphere,  but  "  underneath  all 
heavens,"  vii:  2y.     Incontrovertibly,  these  are  Daniel's  people, 


84  DANIELS  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

the  Jews,  whose  land  the  Horn  has  invaded,  and  who  have 
suffered  under  the  Antichrist  during  the  Great  Tribulation. 
It  is  their  fortunes  the  prophet  foretells,  their  relation  to  the 
world-power  from  the  time  of  their  captivity  till  the  Son  of 
Alan  comes.  For  them,  pre-eminently,  this  Old  Testament 
apocalypse  was  given,  forecasting  their  sinful  and  weary  way, 
and  the  glorious  end  of  the  election  of  God,  xii:  i.  They  are 
New-Born  Israel  of  the  last  times,  "  delivered  "  "vhen  the  Son 
of  Alan  comes,  the  converts  from  apostasy  in  Jacob,  saith  the 
Lord,  Isa.  lix:  20;  Rom.  xi:  26.  Their  holy  dead  have  already 
been  raised  from  their  tombs,  and  made  co-assessors  with 
Christ  on  Plis  throne.  To  the  holy  living,  reserved  in  God's 
counsel  to  be  the  local  and  sustaining  center  of  the  Mes- 
sianic Kingdom  in  victory  on  the  earth,  and  whose  "recep- 
tion "  is  to  be  as  "  life  from  the  dead  "  to  the  nations,  Rom. 
xi:  15,  and  their  "  fulness  "  the  greater  "riches  of  the  Gentiles," 
xi:  12,  "  the  kingdom  and  the  greatness  of  the  kingdom  under 
all  heavens  "  is  given.  Under  Christ,  they  lead  the  world. 
The  Gentile  Powers  have  had  the  "  Times  of  the  Gentiles," 
and  answered  for  their  conduct.  Israel's  times  in  the  king-dom 
now  begin,  the  world  a  witness  of  the  difference  of  administra- 
tion in  the  new  and  better  age  from  that  which  obtained  in  the 
age  just  buried  with  its  crimes.  It  means  that,  by  the  will  of 
God  and  the  gift  of  the  Son  of  Alan,  earth's  sovereignty  shall 
pass  to  the  hands  of  God's  ancient  people,  the  kingdom  be 
restored  to  Israel,  and  all  the  promises  to  Abraham  and  his 
literal  believing  seed  be  at  last  fulfilled.  The  "  gifts  and  cal- 
ling of  God  "  to  them  are  irreversible,  a  boon  their  own  apost- 
asy could  not  invalidate,  Rom.  xi:  29,  the  gift  of  primogeni- 
ture, the  gift  of  the  land,  the  gift  of  their  mission  to  be  the 
bearer  of  the  promises  and  collective  mediator  of  salvation 
to  the  world.  Their  elect  remnant  was  the  nucleus  of  the 
church.  Their  elect  renmant  augmented  to  fullness,  shall  be 
the  nucleus  of  the  Kingdom  in  the  coming  age.  Their  gather- 
ing, last  struggle,  conversion  to  Christ,  regeneration  by  the 
Holy  Spirit  and  political  establishment  in  their  own  land  as 
\  "  ri,?htf(»us  nation,"  and  Ihcir  transcendent  blessing  to  the 


CHAPTER  r  11. —THE  LITTLE  HORN.  85 

nations  are  guaranteed  by  the  covenant,  promise  and  oath  of 
God,  and  by  a  liundred  most  decisive  scriptures  in  both  Testa- 
ments, Ezek.  xxxvi:  24-28;  xxxvii:  21-27;  Zech.xii:  10-14; 
Rom.  xi:  25,  33;  Rev.  vii:  4-8;  xi:  3,  7,  13,  18,  19;  xii:  10,  11; 
xiv:  1-5.  Whatever  expansion  the  New  Testament  gives  to 
the  idea  of  the  "  Saints  "  as  heirs  of  the  kingdom, — and  it  does 
widen  the  term  to  embrace  all  who  have  Abraham's  faith, 
whether  Jews  or  Gentiles, — still  the  contrast,  nationally  and 
politically,  between  Jews  and  Gentiles  is  a  standing  one,  while 
earth  endures.  Spiritually  one  body  in  Christ,  yet  economic- 
ally in  God's  purpose  and  plan  the  contrast  remains  for  David's 
sake,  for  Abraham's  sake  and  for  Israel's  sake,  "  of  whom 
Christ  came,  who  is  over  all,  God  blessed  forever,"  Rom.  ix: 
5.  To  deliver  them,  baptize  them  with  a  fresh  aspergence  of 
Divine  grace,  give  them  the  victory  and  establish  them  in 
glory  and  honor  in  the  kingdom,  the  "  Son  of  ?dan,"  their  own 
"  Brother  "  and  ours,  will  appear  in  the  clouds  of  heaven. 

And  this  has  ever  been  the  one  interpretation  of  the  best 
Hebrew  Doctors  in  all  ages  of  the  world.  "  The  time  will 
come,"  said  David  Kimchi,  "  when  Jacob  shall  prosper  and  be 
redeemed  and  exalted,  though  now  he  is  scattered  and  very 
low,  and  a  wonder  to  the  nations.  When  the  nations  are 
gathered  against  Jerusalem,  God  will  give  to  Israel  the  vic- 
tory." So  the  renowned  Rabbi  Solomon  Isaac:  "The  time 
will  come  when  Jacob  shall  overcome  the  Horns  of  the  nations 
that  scattered  him,  and  be  exalted  to  dominion  in  the  king- 
dom." So  Aben  Ezra  teaches  that  "  the  Judgment  in  Daniel 
is  the  Judgment  of  the  living  nations  when  Israel  shall  be 
avenged,  as  ]\Ioses  taught  in  Deut.  xxxii:  39-43;  Zech.  xiv: 
1-5.  The  nations  will  then  believe  what  they  do  not  now.  At 
last,  they  v/ill  recognize  the  truth  that  Israel  shall  see  deliver- 
ance, a  people  smitten  for  their  sins,  they  will  say  that  the 
stroke  fell  on  Israel  for  their  benefit."  So  Abarbanel,  saying, 
"  God  will  not  only  give  to  Messiah  but  to  Israel  a  portion 
with  the  great,  even  to  Israel  the  wealth  of  the  nations  that 
have  afiiicted  him,  and  who  will  assail  him  in  the  last  days." 
The  Targum  of  Jonathan  is  no  less  explicit:  "  Israel  shall  see 


86  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

the  kingdom  of  Messiah,  and  from  subjection  to  the  nations 
the  Lord  shall  deliver  him.  He  shall  see  the  punishment  of 
his  enemies,  and  be  satisfied  with  the  booty  of  kings."  Such 
are  the  "  People  of  the  Saints  of  the  Most  High,"  to  whom  the 
kingdom  will  be  given  "  underneath  all  heavens," — even  Xew- 
Born  Israel  turned  to  repentance  and  faith,  and  beholding 
their  long-rejected  King,  the  "  Lord  Himself  from  heaven." 
Nor  will  a  greater  day  have  ever  greeted  the  nations  than  this, 
"  when  the  Lord  will  take  away  the  reproach  of  His  people 
from  off  all  the  earth,"  Isa.  xxv:  8,  and  "  Israel  shall  blossom 
and  bud,  and  fill  the  face  of  the  world  with  fruit."  Isa.  xxvii:  6. 
Involuntarily  we  turn  to  that  beautiful  scene  of  the  Sun- 
clothed  Woman  in  Rev.  xii:  i-6.  the  daughter  of  Zion  bringing 
forth  "a  manly  child  to  rule  all  nations"  in  the  time  of  the 
great  tribulation,  "a  nation  born  in  a  day."  Isa.  Ixvi:  5-9; 
Rev.  iii:  26-28;  Rev:  xii:  5.  The  symbol  gives  the  whole 
history  of  the  Jew'ish  church  at  both  advents,  as  is  the  case 
with  other  symbols.  She  appears  as  the  mother  of  Messiah 
— her  seed, persecuted  by  Satan,  yet  sheltered — her  Son  caught 
away  to  the  throne  of  God.  She  appears  also  as  the  mother, 
in  the  End-time,  of  the  manly  child,  persecuted  again,  and 
sheltered,  her  nianly  son,  national  Israel,  exalted  "  to  rule  the 
nations"  when  Gentile  power  is  overthrown.  She  is  clothed 
in  New  Testament  light  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord,  which  was 
not  the  case  when  she  bore  Messiah.  She  is  dressed  here  in 
her  eschatological  attire,  according  to  the  representation  in 
Isaiah,  "Arise,  shine  forth,  for  thy  light  is  come,  and  the  glorv 
of  the  Lord  is  risen  upon  thee!  "  Isa.  Ix;  i.  In  the  tribulation 
she  is  sheltered  1,260  davs,  the  remainder  of  her  belicvinsr 
seed  in  the  field,  persecuted  by  the  Antichrist.  The  twelve 
stars  are  plainly  the  s}mbol  of  Israel,  at  last  victorious  and 
crowned.  That  the  "moon  under  her  feet"  signifies  the  old 
dispensation,  passed  away,  is  admitted;  but  is  there  not  some- 
thing deeper  still  in  the  symbol?  Will  not  her  victory  be  a 
victory  over  the  Crescent  of  Islam  as  well  as  over  Judaism, 
in  the  last  times?  Can  we  say  that  Israel's  triumph  over  the 
Ottoman  power  is  not  here  included  by  that  divine  Spirit  who 


CHAPTER  r  1 1. —THE  LITTLE  HORN.  gy 

sees  the  end  from  the  beginning?  and  that  the  overthrow  of 
both  Judaism  and  Mohammedanism  is  not  here  intended? 
That  such  will  be  the  fact  is  beyond  all  question.  Nor  can  we 
deny  that  the  symbol  is  put  in  direct  connection  with  Michael's 
standing  for  the  Jews  in  the  tribulation  when  the  Turkish 
power  must  pass  away  and  Palestine  be  restored  to  the  Jews 
by  the  interposition  of  their  own  Messiah.  It  is  the  time  when 
the  horns  that  have  exalted  themselves  against  Israel  are 
judged,  and  the  Antichrist  meets  his  doom.  Great  will  be  the 
day!  Dr.  Dollinger  has  made  the  impressive  remark,  that 
"the  symbol  of  the  Sun-clothed  Woman  is  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  in  the  Apocalypse,  and  of  wider  significance  than 
most  suspect."  May  not  that  "wider  significance"  be  the  in- 
clusion of  Islam's  overthrow?  the  crescent  under  the  feet  of 
the  daughter  of  Zion?  the  manly  child  victorious  over  Gentile 
power? 


"Allah!  perchance  the  secret  word  might  spell; 
If  Allah  be,  He  keeps  His  secret  well. 

What  He  has  hidden,  can  we  hope  to  find? 
Shall  God  His  secret  to  a  maggot  tell? 

The    Koran!      Well,    just    put    me    to    the   test; 
Lovely      Id   book,    although   in   error   drest. 

Believe  me,  I  can  quote  the  Koran  too; 
The  unbeliever  knows  the   Koran  best. 

And  do  you  think  that  unto  such  as  you, 
A  maggot-minded,  starved,  fanatic  crew, 
God  tells  the  secret,  and  denies  it  me? 
Well,  well,  what  matters  it,  believe  tl.r.t,  too." 

— Omar  Khayyam. 


(88) 


Chapter  V. 

DANIEL,    CHAPTER   VIII.— THE   EASTERN    QUES- 
TION.    RAAI  AND  GOAT. 

Chapter  viii.  contributes  another  striking  proof  of  the  truth 
of  our  thesis,  viz.,  that  the  kingdom  of  Christ  cannot  come 
to  victory  over  all  the  earth  until  the  Second  Coming  of  the 
Son  of  Man.  Precisely  here  in  this  vision  we  look  in  vain  to 
find  the  "Kingdom"  which  constitutes  the  goal  of  Paniel's 
predictions  and  the  final  triumph  of  the  ancient  ge-jple  of  God. 
The  fulfillment  of  the  prophecy  lies  historically  in  pre-chris- 
tian  times,  a  century  and  a  half  before  the  birth  of  Christ.  At 
the  same  time  its  typical  "  meaning,"  as  an  organic  and  medi- 
ating link  in  a  complex  chain  of  prophecy  having  one  end  in 
view,  points  to  higher  fulfilment  in  the  far  "  Time  of  the  End," 
and  is  in  harmony  with  the  visions  in  chap.  ii.  and  vii.  This 
is  confirmed  by  the  fact  that  though,  first  of  all,  the  "Time  of 
the  End  "  denotes  the  near  horizon  at  which  the  prophet  looks, 
viz.,  the  close  of  the  third  empire,  B.  C.  165,  it  yet  reaches  to 
the  "  Last  Indignation  "  of  God  against  the  Jewish  apostasy, 
vih:  19,  an  "End"  not  yet  apparent  in  history,  and  which 
comes  alone  v;ith  the  destruction  of  the  last  Antichrist,  the 
Horn  m  vii:  8,  and  "  pnnce  that  shall  come  "  in  ix:  27,  and  the 
wilful  and  atheistic  "  King  "  in  xi:  36,  40-45.  Just  because  the 
"  Time  of  the  End  "  in  the  present  vision  was  historically  B.  C. 
168-165,  no  mention  is  made  of  the  "  Kingdom  "  as  set  up  at 
that  time ;  a  fact  that  throws  the  mind  forward  to  the  close  of 
the  fourth  empire  to  find  it.  Here,  as  everywhere  else,  even 
from  the  very  first  prophecy  in  chap,  ii,  it  becomes  clear  that 
no  part  of  Daniel's  predictions  can  be  fully  understood  or 
interpreted,  without  a  knowledge  of  the  whole.  The  fulfillment 

(89) 


go  DANIELS  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

of  the  prophecy  in  chap,  viii.,  concerning  the  Horn  that  afflicts 
the  Holy  People,  points  to  a  higher  fulfillment  in  future  days 
when  the  Jews  will  no  longer  be  apostate,  but  a  people  whose 
apostasy  is  "  finished,"  and  "  sins  "  sealed,  a  ''  righteous  na- 
tion "  forever.  Then  the  kingdom  comes  with  the  "  last  end 
of  the  indignation,"  viz.,  the  close  of  the  Great  Tribulation. 

As  chap.  vii.  was  supplementary  to  chap  ii.,  so  chap.  viii.  is 
supplementary  to  both.  Great  space  was  given  to  the  affairs 
of  the  fourth  empire,  the  Roman,  in  chap.  ii.  and  vii.,  while 
only  four  verses  had  been  given  in  both  to  the  second  and 
third  empires  (ii:  t,^,  39;  vii:  5,  6),  the  Persian  and  the  Grecian. 
The  vision,  therefore,  in  chap  viii.,  treats  more  largely  of  these, 
yet  rapidly  runs  over  them  in  order  to  reach  the  "  Little  Horn  " 
of  the  third.  Henceforth  the  whole  interest  of  the  book  of 
Daniel  circles  round  Messiah  and  His  relation  to  those  Two 
Plorns,  and  to  the  Jews.  As  the  Horn  in  chap.  vii.  is  the  last 
Gentile  oppressor  of  Israel,  viz.,  the  Antichrist,  still  future  to 
us,  so  the  Horn  in  chap.  viii.  was  the  last  Gentile  oppressor  in 
pre-christian  times,  viz.,  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  at  the  close  of 
the  third  empire.  As  in  chap.  vii.  all  the  introductor}^  predic- 
tions led  up,  as  introduction,  to  the  Horn  there,  in  like  manner 
all  in  chap.  viii.  to  the  Horn  here.  The  one  important  purpose 
of  all  such  i-^troductions  in  every  chapter  is  to  show  that  amid 
all  changes  of  empires  Israel  remains  indestructible,  that  the 
ci^ntinuity  of  the  Hebrew  race,  without  a  kingdom,  outruns 
all  kingdoms;  that  Babylon,  Medo-Persia,  Greece  and  Rome 
may  pass  away,  but  Israel  lives,  and  that  he  is  scarce  less  than 
demented  who  can  doubt  that,in  the  end, Israel's  Kingdom  will 
rise  on  the  ruins  of  every  other.  The  period  covered  by  chap, 
viii.  is  that  section  of  the  "  Times  of  the  Gentiles  "  from  the 
capture  of  Babylon,  B.  C.  538,  to  the  death  of  Antiochus  Epi- 
phanes, B.  C.  164,  a  period  of  374  years.  The  whole  chapter 
has  to  do  (i)  with  the  temporal  and  local  circumstances  con- 
nected wuth  the  vision,  viii:  i,  2;  (2)  the  vision  itself,  viii:  3-12; 
(3)  the  Angelic  Dialogue,  viii.  13-14;  (4)  the  Unseen  One 
hovering  over  the  Ulai,  and  the  prophet's  physical  condition 
under  the  power  of  the  vision,  viii:  15-18;  (5)  the  Interpretation 


CHAPTER  nil.— EASTERN  QUESTION.  91 

of  the  Vision  concerning  the  "  Little  Horn,"  by  Gabriel,  viii: 
19-25;  (6)  the  certification  of  the  Truth  of  the  Vision,  viii:  26; 
(7)  the  subsequent  effect  of  the  vision  on  Daniel  and  his  com- 
panions, viii.  27. 

I.  As  to  the  Date  of  the  vision.  It  as  in  "  the  third  year  of 
the  reign  of  the  King  Belshazzar,"  viii:  i.  Assuming  that 
Belshazzzar  is  the  "  Bel-sar-usur  "  of  the  monuments,  and  ac- 
cording to  Oriental  usage,  a  "  King,"  the  date  of  the  vision  is 
B.  C.  538-,  the  year  of  Babylon's  fall  and  of  his  feast,  v:  1-30, 
first  year  of  Darius,  the  Mede,  to  whom  Cyrus  had  given  the 
rule  over  Babylon,  the  year  when  Daniel  was  thrown  to  the 
lions'  "  Den,"  the  second  year  before  the  edict  of  Cyrus,  B.  C. 
536,  releasing  the  Jews,  sixty-eight  of  the  seventy  years  of  the 
captivity  havmg  passed  away. 

II.  As  to  the  Place  of  the  vision.  The  prophet,  though 
bodily  in  Babylon,  was  transported  in  spirit  to  Susa,  whose 
Assyrian  name  was  "  Shushan,"  the  city  of  the  lily  and  the 
lotus-flower,  once  the  capital  of  the  Elamite  kings  far  back  as 
the  days  of  Abraham.  Situated  on  the  river  Ulai,  whose 
waters  alone  the  Persian  monarchs  drank — the  Eulaeus,  or 
Choaspes,  or  modern  Karun — it  was  conquered  by  Sardanap- 
alus,  B.  C.  1650,  afterwards  by  Cyrus,  and  became  one  of  the 
capitals  of  the  Aledo-Persian  empire,  the  chief  city  in  the 
province  of  Elam.  The  province  lay  in  the  lower  valley  of  the 
Euphrates,  called  by  the  ancients  "Anzan,"  over  which  Cyrus 
reigned  before  his  conquest  of  Media,  Lydia  and  Babylon.  On 
the  south  is  the  Persian  Gulf.  The  city  of  Shushan  is  mem- 
orable in  Scripture  as,  not  only  the  scene  of  Daniel's  vision, 
but  as  the  home  of  Nehemiah,  who  was  "  Cup-bearer "  to 
Artaxerxes,  and  as  the  scene  of  the  whole  book  of  Esther. 
]\Iodern  English  and  Erench  explorers  have  excavated  from 
its  tumuli  relics  of  its  ancient  "Apadana,"  or  "palace,"  mag- 
nificent in  Assyrian,  Egyptian  and  Corinthian  architecture, 
and  brilliant  with  colors  of  crimson,  and  gold,  silver  and  blue. 
At  Shushan  stands  the  tomb  of  Daniel,  venerated  by  the  Mos- 
lem, and  sacredly  guarded.  The  Holy  Spirit  chose  the  place 
as  the  locality  of  the  vision  here,  because  the  vision  itself  fore- 


92  DANIEVS  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

tells  the  overthrow  of  the  empire  of  Cyrus,  by  Alexander,  who 
occupied  the  city.  The  prophet's  position  in  the  vision  is  not 
"in  the  palace  "  (as  our  Enghsh  version  reads),  but  "near  the 
fortress,''  encircled  as  it  was  by  the  river. 

III.  The  Vision  itself.  It  is  no  less  than  that  of  the  "  Eastern 
Question,"  a  vision  of  conflicting  civilizations,  the  Asiatic  and 
European  struggling  for  the  mastery  of  the  Old  World.  Dan- 
iel sees  a  "  Ram,"  starting  from  the  East,  and  pushing  West- 
ward, Northward  and  Southward,  an  effort  of  Asia  to  overrun 
Europe  and  Africa,  the  effort  of  the  Medo-Persian  empire. 
He  sees,  in  turn,  the  counter-effort  of  Europe  to  overrun  Asia 
and  Africa,  the  effort  of  the  "  Goat,"  or  Gr3eco-]\Iacedonian 
empire.  It  is  Oriental  and  Occidental  civilization  in  collision, 
contending  for  universal  rule.  On  the  one  hand  is  an  invading 
host  crossing  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates  and  rolling  like  a  tide 
westward  to  the  Mediterranean;  on  the  other  a  less  numerous 
but  more  intelligent,  active  and  efficient  one  crossing  the  Hel- 
lespont and  darting  eastward,  conquering  everything  before  it; 
in  both  cases  tribulation  for  the  Jewish  people,  and  Gentile  down- 
treading  for  Palestine,  the  union-point  of  three  continents. 
These  great  world-movements,  like  those  afterwards  between 
the  north  and  south,  are  mirrors  of  like  collisions  to  occur  in 
the  last  days,  marking  the  "  Time  of  the  End  " — the  East  seek- 
ing to  control  the  West,  the  West  the  East,  Palestine  at  last 
the  scene  of  the  hottest  conflict;  and  furthermore,  the  same 
international  struggles  involving  not  only  the  North  and  the 
South,  but  all  the  semi-civilized  nations  and  barbarous  tribes 
outside  the  limits  of  the  old  Roman  territory.  It  is  the  fixed 
law  of  history,  ancient,  mediaeval  and  modern.  There  is  some- 
thing very  impressive  in  the  thought  that  the  Holy  Spirit,  an 
angel  from  heaven,  and  inspired  prophecy,  should  so  splendid- 
ly anticipate  the  inductions  of  the  ablest  modern  scientific 
study  in  the  field  of  history,  and  forecast,  two  thousand  years 
ago,  the  very  laws  of  historical  movement,  whose  recent  men- 
tion has  crowned  with  laurels  the  supposed  discoverers  of 
them.  And  the  thought  that  Daniel  wrote  his  book,  not  only 
in  the  face  of  his  apostate  countrymen,  but  in  the  face  and 


CHAPTER  VIII.— EASTERN  QUESTION.  93 

front  of  Babylonian  and  Persian  supremacy,  anouncing  the 
doom  of  both,  and  of  all  world-empires  and  kingdoms,  adds 
grandeur  to  the  heroism  of  the  prophet,  as  it  adds  ten-fold  in- 
terest to  his  predictions.  The  prophet,  so  glorious,  has  mer- 
ited the  title  of  both  an  "  Anarchist "  and  "  Pessimist  " 
in  our  day.  The  disease  of  "  modern  progress  "  ill  brooks 
any  hint  of  its  failure.  But  prophecy  is  a  light  and 
a  lesson.  The  great  world-movement  of  history  is 
planetary  motion.  "  It  returneth  again  according  to 
its  circuit."  The  End-Time  will  renew  the  Old-Timc, 
though  under  new  conditions.  "  That  which  hath  been 
is  that  which  shall  be,  and  what  is  done  is  that  which  shall 
be  done,  and  there  is  no  new  thing  under  the  sun!"  Eccl.  i: 
6,  9.  Empires  and  kingdoms  must  "go"  that  the  Kingdom  of 
Christ  may  "come." 

Lifting  his  eyes,  entranced,  the  prophet  sees  the  two-horned 
Ram  standing  in  front  of  the  Ulai  on  its  opposite  side,  the 
horns  of  unequal  height,  the  higher  nearest  the  stream,  de- 
noting the  superiority  of  the  Persian  over  the  Median  element 
in  the  Medo-Persian  empire  of  Cyrus.  The  duality  of  the  dy- 
nasties is  merged  in  the  unity  of  the  empire.  The  Ram's  mo- 
tion indicates  the  conquest  of  the  whole  Medo-Persian  suc- 
cession, for  two  hundred  years.  Invincibly  the  Ram  butts 
westward,  toward  Babylonia,  Lydia,  Asia  Minor  and  Greece; 
northward  toward  Armenia,  the  Caspian,  Bactria,  Scythia; 
southward  toward  Egypt,  Lybia  and  Ethiopia,  viii:  14.  A 
bounding  goat  with  projecting  horn,  interocular,  comes  leap- 
ing from  the  West,  and  with  unexampled  speed  skipping  across 
the  face  of  the  earth,  as  if  spurning  the  ground,  rushes  with 
irresistible  and  mad  onset  into  the  Ram,  breaking  his  horns, 
casting  him  down,  stamping  upon  him;  no  allies  able  to  save 
him  out  of  the  goat's  power.  That  "  Notable  Horn  "  is  young- 
Alexander,  first  king  of  the  Graeco-^Iacedonian  empire,  but 
twenty  years  of  age,  whose  first  leap  at  the  Ram  was  across 
the  Hellespont,  B.  C.  334.  with  40,000  men,  and  whose  rapidly- 
fought  battles  from  the  Granicus,  334,  to  Arbela,  331,  thence 
to  the  bank?  of  the  Indus  and  the  Nile,  rlience  again  to  Shu- 


94 


DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 


shan,  325,  and  dying  at  Babylon,  323,  broke  the  horns  of  the 
Ram,  cast  him  down,  stamped  on  him,  paid  him  in  fiiU  for  his 
invasion  of  Greece,  and  ended  forever  the  ]\Iedo-Persian  em- 
pire. "  Notable  Horn!"  In  the  words  of  Napoleon,  "Alexan- 
der deserved  all  the  glory  the  world  has  given  him."  By  such 
symbols  the  Holy  Spirit  foretold  the  fortunes  of  the  Persian 
and  Greek  empires. 

While  the  prophet  is  gazing  he  sees  the  notable  horn  "  brok- 
en," reads  therein  the  premature  death  of  Alexander,  and  be- 
holds the  "  four  notable  horns  "  rising  in  its  place,  toward  the 
four  points  of  the  compass.  They  are  the  four  kingdoms  into 
which  Alexander's  empire  was  parted,  Syria,  Egypt,  Llace- 
donia  and  Asia  Minor,  viii:  8,  all  of  which  have  been  ruled  and 
are  now  claimed  by  the  Turk.  "  Out  of  one  of  them,"  Syria, 
he  beholds  an  upstart  waxing  to  greatness,  a  "  Little  Horn," 
pushing  southward  toward  Egypt,  eastward  toward  Persia, 
j\Iedia,  Armenia  and  Babylon,  and  toward  "  the  Beauty,"  /.  c, 
the  Holy  Land,  viii:  9.  That  "  Little  Horn  "  sprung  from  one 
of  the  four  kingdoms  of  Alexander's  divided  empire,  is  An- 
tiochus  Epiphanes,  born  B.  C.  221,  the  eighth  king  of  the 
Seleucid  dynasty,  usurping  the  Syrian  throne,  B.  C.  175,  and 
reigning  eleven  years,  the  Greek  Antichrist,  whose  capital 
was  Antioch;  the  brother  of  Cleopatra,  the  mother  of  all  the 
Cleopatras,  the  tyrant  and  oppressor  of  the  Jews,  and  called 
by  the  nickname  "  Epimanes,"  /.  c,  "  the  Madman." 

The  vision  presents  to  the  eye  of  the  prophet  a  scene  of  sac- 
rilegious horror  enacted  in  the  temple-court  and  city  of  Jeru- 
salem; an  attempt  to  exterminate  the  holy  people  and  the  re- 
ligion of  Jehovah,  and  substitute  for  both  a  heathen  colony 
and  the  Greek  idolatry;  the  first  attempt  ever  made  in  history 
to  force  a  people  to  forswear  their  faith,  or  suffer  death  for 
disobedience.  The  God-defying  insolence  of  the  Plorn  was, 
till  then,  without  a  parallel.  Other  conquerors  of  the  Jews 
had,  at  least,  respected  their  religion.  This  one  had  no  re- 
spect. Nebuchadnezzar,  Cyrus  and  Alexander,  paid  homage 
to  "  God,  INIost  High,"  and  bowed  before  the  holy  oracles. 
This  one  pays  none,  and  tramples  the  ''  Truth  "  to  the  ground. 


CHAPTER  JUL— EASTERN  QUESTION.  95 

With  self-magnifying  egotism  he  invades  the  Holy  I.and,  and 
raging  in  hate  against  the  Holy  Covenant,  takes  the  Holy  City, 
assails  the  "  Host  of  Heaven,"  /.  c,  Israel,  casts  a  part  to  the 
ground,  "  stamping  "  on  them,  among  them  the  "  Stars  "  of 
the  host,  the  princes  and  priests  of  Israel.  Even  to  the  "Prince 
of  the  Host,"  i.  c,  the  High  Priest,  Onias  III.,  he  opposes 
himself,  "  doing  great  things,"  taking  away  the  "  Daily,"  the 
stated  morning  and  evening  service  at  the  altar;  polluting  and 
degrading  (nofdestroying")  the  place  of  the  sanctuary,  erecting 
a  pagan  altar  upon  the  Altar  of  Burnt-OfTering,  sacrificing  a 
swine  upon  it,  sprinkling  with  swine's  broth  the  holy  places, 
and  setting  up  beside  the  altar  a  statue  of  Jupiter.  Yet  more, 
in  his  madness,  he  continues  his  work,  introducing  the  youth 
of  Jerusalem  to  the  Greek  gymnasia,  customs  and  games  es- 
tablished for  their  recreation,  weaning  them  away  from  their 
religion,  supplanting  the  practice  of  virtue  by  the  lewd  sports 
of  Plercules,  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles  by  the  festival  of  Bac- 
chus, and  teaching  them  to  undo,  by  artificial  means,  the  token 
of  their  national  distinction.  With  those  who  "  forsake  the 
Holy  Covenant," xi  130, he  enters  intoanew"covenant,"  i  Alacc. 
i:  II,  12,  putting  up  the  high-priesthood  for  sale  to  the  high- 
est bidder,  farming  out  the  mitre,  breast-plate  and  robes  of 
Aaron's  office  for  440  talents  of  gold  as  annual  payment  for  the 
dignity;  the  apostate  bidder  selHng  the  golden  altar  of  incense, 
the  golden  candlestick,  the  cable  of  shewbread  and  the  sacred 
vessels,  in  the  market  of  Tyre,  for  1,800  talents,  to  pay  Anti- 
ochus  the  annual  sums  demanded.  To  crown  the  infamy,  he 
winks  at  the  assassination  of  tlie  lawful  High  Priest,  Onias 
HI.,  because  protesting  against  the  sacrilege,  defaces,  by  ob- 
scene pictures,  and  casts  to  the  ground,  the  Pentateuch  and 
the  Prophets,  the  authoritative  law  and  sanction  of  the  Hebrew 
worship,  forbids  Jewish  rites,  orders  the  erection  of  idol  altars 
in  every  town  and  city,  massacres  80,000  of  God's  saints  in  his 
first  attack,  20,000  at  the  second,  devastates  the  city,  and  with 
abominations  surpassing  those  of  Manasseh,  and  lust  beyond 
that  of  a  Sardanapalus,  defiles  the  place,  the  holiest  known  on 
earth  since  the  beginning  of  the  creation  of  God.    Thus  does 


96  DANIELS  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

he  "  do."  The  full  story  of  his  deeds,  here  recited  only  in  part, 
is  fonud  in  the  books  of  the  Maccabees — a  picture  of  hor- 
ror symbolized  in  outline,  in  the  vision  here  given  to  the 
prophet.  Using  the  language  of  the  Levitical  law,  in  Num. 
iv:  23;  viii:  24;  in  which  the  word  "  Host  "  is  employed  to  de- 
note the  Hebrew  sacrificial  "  Service,"  the  prophet  states  that 
"  a  host  was  given  "  to  the  tyrant,  i.  c,  allowed  to  him  by 
God's  permission,  because  of  Israel's  transgression  in  for^.  Ic- 
ing God's  covenant — a  heathen  "Service"  ministered  by  heath- 
en priests  within  the  temple-court,  in  place  of  the  daily  offer- 
ing, and  that  the  Horn  "  practiced  and  prospered  "  in  unhind- 
ered activity — the  Jewish  worship  abolished,  the  sanctuary 
and  Jewish  Host  trodden  under  foot;  apostasy  installed  in  the 
form  of  an  abomination  in  the  very  precincts  of  the  temple. 
To  the  soul  of  the  prophet  the  vision  was  appalling,  viii:  10-12. 
IV.  The  Angelic  Dialogue.  While  the  prophet  is  gazing 
at  the  horror,  suddenly  he  hears  "  One  Holy  One  speaking, 
and  another  Holy  One  saying  to  that  Certain  Holy  One,"  as 
yet  unknown — "  Palmoni,"  or  "  Peloni  Almoni,"  that  "  Some 
One  or  Other,"  a  "  Wonderful  Numberer  " — "  How  long  the 
vision  of  the  Daily,  and  the  transgression  of  the  desolation, 
giving  both  the  sanctuary  and  the  Host  to  be  trodden  down?" 
viii.  13.  We  have  here  a  glimpse  into  the  angel  world,  which 
rationalists  use  to  discredit  the  Book  of  Daniel  as  a  spurious 
production,  deriving  its  angelology  from  the  Zoroastrian  sys- 
tem with  its  "Amshaspands,"  or  fairy  beings,  analogous  to  the 
Sylphs  and  Fauns  of  the  Greeks!  Nothing  is  more  false.  The 
Biblical  angels  are  the  "  Holy  Watchers,"  Dan.  iv:  13,  17-23; 
vi:  22;  whose  vigils  remain  unbroken,  the  sleepless  sentinels 
of  heaven  who  take  interest  in  all  the  afTairs  of  the  earth, 
among  whom  are  Gabriel,  vi:  22;  viii:  16;  ix:  21;  x:  10, 
14,  18,  21;  xi:  i;  and  Michael,  x:  13,  21;  xii:  i;  and 
over  whom  the  Unslumbering  Keeper  of  Israel  presides, 
Ps.  cxxi:  4.  Daniel  hears  Gabriel  asking  Palmoni  "  hovv' 
long "  the  horror  shall  be,  Palmoni  answering  "  Until 
2,300  evening-morning;  and  the  Sanctuarv  shall  be  justified," 
/.  c,  restored  to  its  lawful  use,  since  so  long  as  profaned  it  lay^ 


CHAPTER  nil.— EASTERN  QUESTION.  97 

under  condemnation.  The  dialogue  is  evidently  meant  for  the 
benefit  of  Daniel,  to  whom  the  vision  was  given.  If  the 
"  2,300  evening-morning  "  are  whole  days,  they  are  six  years, 
four  months,  twenty  days;  if  half  days,  the  recurring  times  for 
morning  and  evening  sacrifice,  they  are  three  years,  two 
months,  ten  days,  the  time  of  the  Maccabean  tribulation,  B.  C. 
168-165,  3-t  whose  close  the  sanctuary  was  "  cleansed "  by 
Judas  Maccabaeus,  and  the  Jewish  worship  restored — the 
death-year  of  Antiochus  being  164. 

V.    The  Apparition  of  a  Man.     The  holy  prophet  is  stili 
perplexed.  He  betrays  his  confusion  and  anxiety  to  understand 
the  "  meaning  "  of  what  he  had  seen.    It  was  not  enough  that 
the  duration  of  the  horror  should  be  determined.     lie  would 
know   the    import   of   the   scene    itself.     "  I,  even    I,  Daniel, 
would    know  the  m.eaning."     The  Lord  regards  his  distress 
and  commands  immmediate  relief.    "That  Certain  Saint,"  the 
"  Holy  Some  One  or  Other,"  "  Palmoni,"  as  yet  unseen,  utters 
his  voice.    With  a  tone  of  superior  authority  and  dignity,  such 
as  belongs  only  to  One  made  higher  than  the  angels.  He  bids 
the  questioner  in  the  dialogue  make  known  the  "  meaning  "  to 
Daniel.    If  we  really  desire  to  know  the  "  meaning  "  of  God's 
revelation,   God   will   grant   our   desire.      From   between   t^ie 
banks  of  the  Ulai,  where  hovered  the  form  mysterious  above 
its  waters,  the  order  comes,  "Gabriel,  make  this  one  to  under- 
stand the  vision."    Holy  angels  are  admitted  to  the  secrcus  of 
God,  and  reveal  to  mortals  His  mind.     The  prophet,  affected 
by  his  environment,  and  overborne  by  more  than  magnetic 
power,  and  weak  as  a  child,  passes  into  a  "deep  sleep."     The 
angel  "  touches  "  him,  imparting  strength  to  stand  erect  and 
receive  the  revelation.     Gabriel  bespeaks  his  closest  attention, 
since  the  vision  relates  to  the  "  Time  of  the  End  "  and  God's 
"  Last  Indignation"  against  Israel,  for  their  apostasy  from  His 
holy  covenant.    "  Understand,  O  son  of  man,  for  at  the  Time 
of  the  End  the  Vision  shall  be."     "  Behold,  I  will  make  thee 
know  what  shall  be  in  the  Last  End  of  the  Indignation,  for  at 
the  appointed  time  is  the  End,"  viii:  19.    Solemn  the  thought, 
that  nothmg  happens  by  chance,  not  merely  by  man's  free  will, 


98  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

but  that  all  history  eventuates  at  the  "  time  appointed  "  of 
God.    The  ang-el  proceeds  to  interpret. 

VI.  The  Interpretation  of  the  Vision.  Much  of  this  has  al- 
ready been  anticipated.  First  of  all,  the  "  Ram  "  and  the 
"  Goat  "  represent  the  kingdoms  and  kings  of  the  ]Medo-Per- 
sian  and  Graeco-IMacedonian  empires.  These  are  the  second 
and  third,  and  correspond  to  the  Silver  and  Brass  of  the  Co- 
lossus in  chap,  ii.,  and  to  the  Bear  and  Leopard  (or  Panther) 
in  chap,  vii.;  viii:  20,  21.  Here  we  have  Divine  authority 
against  the  rationalism  that  substitutes  wrong  empires  in  the 
sacred  text.  We  know  that  the  first  empire  in  the  Colossus  is 
that  of  Babylon,  ii:  38,  and  the  second  and  third  those  of 
Aledo-Persia  and  Graecia,  or  Javan,  viii:  20,  21.  The  fourth, 
therefore  can  only  be  the  Roman,  since  all  history  shows  that 
it  succeeded  Alexander's  broken  empire,  and  the  Revelation 
by  John  demonstrates  the  fact  that  the  tcu-horncd  Beast  in 
John  is  the  Roman  Beast,  identical  with  the  ten-horned  beast 
in  Daniel.  The  IMedian  empire  was  destroyed  by  Cyrus  in 
B.  C.  549,  or  eleven  years  before  his  capture  of  Babylon,  and 
to  the  empire  of  Macedon,  founded  by  Philip.  Alexander  ad- 
ded his  conquest  of  Graecia.  It  is  absolutely  certain,  therefore, 
that  the  fourth  empire,  in  chap.  ii.  anC  vii.,  is  the  Roman.  Of 
the  four  kingdom.s  of  Alexander's  partec!  empire,  and  the  rise 
of  Antiochus  Epiphanes  "out  of  one  c:  them,"  sufficient  has 
been  said.  The  angel  adds  that  none  of  (hem  should  equal  in 
strength  that  of  Alexander;  "  not  in  his  power,"  viii:  22.  Ga- 
briel's interpretation  of  the  rise  and  career  of  Antiochus  is  full 
of  political  significance,  and  mi^ht  be  applied,  with  perfect 
justice,  in  most  respects,  to  the  rise  and  career  of  t!ie  ^^.loslem 
power,  and  in  fact  to  the  international  politics  of  Europe.  The 
Horn,  as  to  his  personal  aspect,  will  be  "  a  king  of  fierce  coun- 
tenance," viii:  23,  a  cruel-faced  man,  yet  more,  a  master  in 
diplomacy,  quick  to  detect  and  skillful  to  fram.e  and  under- 
stand dark  sentences,"  viii:  23,  i.  c,  a  man  of  double-dealing, 
expert  in  obscure  and  ambiguous  propositions,  a  political  in- 
triguer, intelligent  as  a  Macch-iavclli,  a  Tallevrand,  a  Sultan, 
a  Vienna,   London,  or  Berlin  congress,  dealing  deceitfullv, 


CHAPTER  J'lir.-EASTERX  QUESTION.  99 

uttering  lies  while  pretending  to  speak  truth,  entering  into 
covenants  and  treaties— not  purposing  to  keep  them,  promis- 
ing but  not  performing.     A  power  among  "  Powers,"  he  wnl 
be  "  mighty,"  yet  "  not  by  his  own  power,"  viii:  24,  but  by  the 
help  of  other  powers,  maintaining  him,  aiding  him,  and  enter- 
ing into  compact  with  him — the  mode  by  wdiich  Antiochus 
arose,  acquired  and  kept  his  throne,  xi:  21-23,  27.     By  such 
means,  he  should  wax  tc  greatness,  and  persecute  God's  saints, 
leagued  with  apostates  from  the  true  faith,  men  who  should 
espouse  his  own  in  order  to  save  their  lives.     "  He  shall  de- 
stroy wonderfully,"  the  world  astonished  at  his  cruelty— 80,000 
massacred  during  his  first  assault  upon  the  Holy  People  at 
Jerusalem,    B.  C.    170;     22,000    during    his    second,    B.  C. 
168  —  men    and    women   "of    whom    the   world    was    not 
worthy."  Heb.  xi:  35-40;    i    Mace,    vii:     1-20.       Practicing 
and    prospering    he    should    "destroy    the    mighty    and    the 
Holy   People,"  viii:   24,   by   means   of    his   policy,   viii:   25. 
Affecting  to  favor  peace,  while  preparing  for  war,  he  should 
"  cause  craft  to  prosper  in  his  hand,"  i.  c.  his  own  intrigues  to 
be  successful,  viii:  25.  "  by  peace  destroy  many,"  creating  con- 
fidence in  his  promises,  then  betraying  his  victims,  and  thus 
possess  and  hold,  as  did  Antiochus,  Palestine,  Egypt,  Mace- 
donia, Syria  and  Asia  JNIinor,  "for  an  appointed  time,"  viii: 
19.    His  self-exaltation  and  deification  w-ill  be  not  a  momentary 
passion  but  an  abiding  conviction  "  in  his  heart,"  viii:  25,  lead- 
ing him  to  stand  up  defiantly  even    against    the  "Prince  of 
princes,"  viii:  25,  the  God  of  Israel.     Nevertheless  he  "shall 
be  broken,"  not  as  other  horns  are  broken  in  the  day  of  battle, 
but  "without  liand,"  viii:  25,  by  some  mysterious  judgment 
of  God.     So  did  it  happen  to  the  tyrant  who,  by  the  strange 
judgment  of  God,  was  struck  with  loathsome  and  mortal  di- 
sease while  returning  from  the  plunder  of  an  ancient  temple, 
and  died  at  Tabae  in  Persia,  B.  C.  164.    The  awful  vision  and 
its  interpretation,  Gabriel  certifies  to  Daniel  as  "  true,"  com- 
manding him  to  "  shut  up  the  vision,"  because  its  time  of  ful- 
filment was  yet  "  many  days."  /.  r..  years,  viii:  27. 

Five  different  expressions  are  used  to  mark  the  time  when 


lOO  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

the  vision  would  be  accomplished,  (i)  The  "  Time  of  the 
End,"  viii:  17;  (2)  the  "  Last  End  of  the  Indignation  "  of  God 
against  Israel's  apostasy,  viii:  19;  (3)  the  "  Latter  Time  of 
their  Kingdoms,"  /.  c,  the  time  of  the  decline  of  the  four  king- 
doms into  which  Alexander's  empire  was  divided,  viii:  23; 
(4)  "  when  the  transgressors  are  come  to  the  full,"  i.  e.,  when 
Israel's  apostates  have  filled  up  the  measure  of  their  sins;  (5) 
"  for  many  days,"  i.  c,  many  years  after  the  date  of  the  vision, 
viii:  26.  By  the  "  Time  of  the  End  "  is  not  meant  the  end  of 
time,  nor  the  end  of  the  world,  but  the  closing  days  of  a  period 
of  "  many  days,"  /.  c,  years  preceding;  a  long  time  elapsing 
between  the  giving  of  the  vision  and  its  fulfillment.  Here  is 
proof  conclusive  that  the  prophecy  was  not  written  in  Mac- 
cabean  times,  by  a  Maccabean  Jew,  but  long  years  previously, 
xii:  4;  vii:  i;  xi:  21.  The  phrase  "Time  of  the  End"  is  a 
technical  expression  in  prophecy,  indefinite  and  general  in 
itself,  including  (i)  a  near  horizon  of  fulfillment,  and  (2)  a  ho- 
rizon more  remote,  as  in  all  typical  prophecy.  Here,  it  de- 
notes, first  of  all,  the  "2,300  evening-morning"  at  the  close  of 
the  third  empire  in  its  four-parted  state,  "  the  latter  times  of 
the  four  kingdoms,"  when  the  Jewish  apostasy  would  come  to 
its  height  in  pre-Christian  times — "  many  days,"  i.  e.,  370  years 
after  the  date  of  the  vision.  History  has  proved  the  truth  of 
the  prediction.  On  the  other  hand,  the  "  Indignation  "  is  a 
technical  term  in  prophecy,  denoting  God's  judicial  wrath 
against  Israel  for  their  transgression  of  His  covenant,  and  the 
"Last  End  of  the  Indignation"  that  final  stroke  of  punishment  on 
all  apostates  from  the  covenant  immediately  preceding  the 
final  deliverance  of  the  Jews,  Deut.  xxxii:  35-43,  and  of  which 
the  previous  strokes,  Isa.  x:  23;  xxviii:  23;  and  the  Roman 
destruction  of  Jerusalem,  Rom.  ix:  28,  are  types.  It  is  the 
period  of  the  "Great  Tribulation,"  Dan.  xii:  i;  Alatt.  xxiv: 
21 ;  Rev.  vii:  14;  xiii:  5.  It  is  clear,  therefore,  that  not  only  was 
the  period  B.  C.  168-165  not  the  "  Last  End  of  the  Indigna- 
tion," since  the  Jews  "  filled  up  the  measure  "  of  their  fathers' 
sins  by  crucifying  Christ,  Matt,  xxiii:  32,  and  the  "  Indigna- 
tion "  again  fell  upon  their  city  and  upon  themselves,  but  that, 


CHAPTER  VIII.— EASTERN  QUESTION.  loi 

once  more,  in  the  far  "  Time  of  the  End,"  it  will  fall  upon  them 
in  the  last  crisis  of  their  history,  vii:  26;  ix:  27;  x:  14;  xi: 
40-45;  xii:  I,  7,  9.  Therefore  the  "  meaning  "  of  the  prophecy 
is  not  limited  to  the  times  of  Antiochus,  but  looks  to  the  close 
of  the  last  1,260  days  of  the  Horn  in  chap.  vii.  In  this  sense, 
again,  the  vision  is  "  for  many  days."  Every  child  of  Abraham 
knows  the  "  meaning  "  of  the  great  phrase  "  the  Time  of  the 
End."  It  is  the  time  of  the  cessation  of  Israel's  last  suffering 
and  unbelief,  and  their  enjoyment  of  the  Kingdom  when 
Messiah  comes.  To  that  the  eyes  of  Daniel  were  directed,  as 
were  those  of  Moses  and  dying  Jacob— a  goal  the  desire  of  all 
the  patriarchs,  the  transport  of  the  prophets,  and  the  expecta- 
tion of  all  the  ancient  people  of  God. 

Modern  false  criticism  has  labored  hard  to  identify  the  two 
"  Little  Horns  "  of  chap.  vii.  and  viii.  in  order  to  arrest  the 
scope  of  Daniel's  predictions  at  B.  C.  164,  and  so  deny  the 
Messianic  character  of  the  book,  and  its  eschatological  value. 
Vain  effort  has  been  madetoequatethe  i,i5cdays  of  Antiochus 
with  the  1,260  days  of  the  Antichrist,  and  to  insert  an  inde- 
pendent "  Median  Kingdom  "  between  the  fall  of  Babylon  and 
the  alleged  rise  of  the  Persian  under  Darius  Hystaspes.  By 
this  means  the  second  empire  becomes  the  "Median,"  the  third 
the  Persian,  and  the  fourth  that  of  Alexander  and  his  succes- 
sors! This  is  done  because  of  the  "Similarities"  that  exist 
between  the  two  Horns.  These  arc  the  invasion  of  the  Holy 
Land  by  both,  the  persecution  of  the  Jews,  the  profanation  of 
the  Temple,  a  defined  career  for  both,  an  egotistic,  self-magni- 
fying and  self-deifying  character  for  both,  and  a  tragic  end. 
But  the  "  Dififerences  "  between  the  Horns  are  so  great,  the 
identification  becomes  impossible.  The  Horn  in  chap.  viii. 
rises  out  of  one  of  four  kingdoms  into  which  the  third  empire 
was  broken  in  pre-Christian  times,  persecutes  during  2,300 
evening-mornings,  and  dies  at  Tabae,  in  Persia,  B.  C.  164. 
The  Horn  in  chap.  vii.  rises  among  ten  kingdoms  into  which 
the  fourth  empire  is  divided,  plucks  up  three,  and  persecutes 
during  1,260  days,  next  preceding  its  destruction  at  the  Second 
Coming  of  Christ.    One  expires  at  the  close  of  the  forty-fifth  of 


I02 


DANIELS  GREAT  PROPHECY. 


Daniel's  seventy  weeks,  ix:  24,  the  other  expires  at  the  close 
of  the  seventieth  week,  ix:  27;  vii:  26;  xii:  7.  Other  points  of 
similarity  and  difference  it  is  needless  to  mention.  The 
"Similarities "  are  as  undeniable  as  are  the  "  Differences," 
and  as  necessary,  too.  For  this  reason,  Paul  gives  the  title 
"Alan  of  Sin"— "Aner  llamartolos"  (Sept.)— which  the  mar- 
tyrs of  the  law  gave  to  Antiochus,  to  the  future  Antichrist  him- 
self, and  paints  the  last  in  the  colors  of  the  first,  but  with  fea- 
tures also  different  from  the  first.  The  Horns  are  morally  one, 
historically  two.    One  is  past,  the  other  is  to  come. 

The  deep  ground  of  the  "  Similarities  "  lies  in  the  fact  that 
the  Ages  and  Ends  are  all  prearrranged  in  the  counsel  of  God, 
each  a  mirror  in  which  the  other  is  seen,  and  that  the  World- 
Power  is  an  organic  growth  of  essentially  the  same  nature  in 
every  age,  and  producing  essentially  the  same  characters  at 
the  end  of  each  age,  only  in  higher  dcvelopn.ent.  It  lies  in 
the  fact  that  a  law  of  degeneration  runs  parallel  with  a  law  of 
improvement,  evil  ever  waxing  to  its  height,  coming  into 
closer  and  deadlier  antagonism  with  the  good  that  seeks  to 
restrain  and  hem  it  in.  The  more  energetic  the  forces  of  good, 
the  more  powerful  and  persistent  the  aroused  and  excited 
forces  of  evil,  and  but  for  the  intervention  of  God,  the  evil 
overcoming  finally  the  good.  Shar]KM-,  and  deeper,  and  wider 
becomes  the  conflict.  Wholly  by  the  supernatural  power  of 
God  is  the  life  of  His  Kingdom  maintained.  Its  supremacy 
is  not  due  to  human  agencies.  Civilization  is  not  grace. 
Ethics,  better  laws,  science,  sociology,  never  eradicate  sin, 
bind  Satan,  or  remove  the  material  objects  that  tempt  men  and 
nations  to  aim  at  self-aggrandizement  regardless  of  justice, 
truth,  humanity  and  liberty,  and  the  equal  rights  of  the  weak 
and  oppressed.  The  moral  wickedness  of  the  World-Power  in 
its  social,  civil,  political  and  international  relations,  its  lust 
after  wealth  and  supremacy,  its  opposition  to  the  spirit  and 
the  truth  of  God,  and  its  alienation  from  righteousness,  pre- 
cipitate the  last  struggle  between  evil  and  good,  and  make  the 
dissolution  and  the  "  End  of  the  Age  "  a  necessity,  in  order  to 
save  the  Kingdom  of  God.    And  with  the  "  Time  of  the  End," 


CHAPTER  rill.-EASTLKX  QUESTION.  103 

the  old  personalities  reappear,  according  to  an  ever  unerring 
law  of  history  and  of  nature,  like  producing  like,  deepening 
opposition  to' Cod  and  His  Kingdom  here,  intenser  devotion 
there,  the  world-kingdoms  ever  more  deaf  to  the  appeal  of  the 
people  of  God.  And  the  nearer  the  "  End  "  of  any  dispensa- 
tion, age,  or  period,  to  the  "  Last  End,"  the  more  "  Similar  " 
to  the  last  Antichrist  appears  the  one  that  preceded  him— Ccl- 
shazzar  pointing  to  Ilaman,  Haman  to  Antiochus,  Antiochus 
to  Antichrist.  Such  is  the  law  of  development  along  the  ages, 
and  such  the  grounds  of  the  *'  Similarities  "  between  the  two 
Horns.  Only  with  the  ruin  of  the  last,  and  of  all  Gentile 
politics  and  powers,  come  Israel's  redemption  and  the  King- 
dom of  Christ  in  victory  "  underneath  all  heavens." 

This  vision  was  given  to  unveil  the  future  of  the  Jewish 
people  subsequent  to  their  return  from  Babylonish  exile,  to 
warn  apostates    and  prepare  and  comfort  the  faithful  in  view 
of  the  tribulation  to  come  upon  them.     It  is  a  signal  proof  of 
the  fidelity,  care  and  compassion  of  God.    Though  severe,  yet 
the  tribulation  should  be  short,  and  the  outcome  as  glorious 
as  the  contact  was  painful.    In  any  case,  "  the  righteous  are  in 
the  hands  of  God,"  and  "their  blood  is  precious  in  His  sight." 
The  vision  is  elaborated  in  chap,  xi.,  where  the  several  cam- 
paigns of  the  Syrian  tyrant  are  exhibited  and  the  grand  resist- 
anc'e  of  the  Alaccabcan  heroes  is  immortalized-  a  resistance  in 
behalf  of  the  "  Truth  "  and  "  Covenant  "  of  God,  which,  with 
a  perfect  knowledge  of  their  history,  fired  the  soul  of  Paul  to 
re-immortalize  their  deeds,  and  celebrate  their  faith  as  worthy 
to  stand  beside  the  faith  of  an  Abel,  Enoch,  and  Noah,  aa 
Abraham  and  all  the  patriarchs,  a  Closes,  Joshua  and  all  tl:e 
Judges,  supported  alone  by  the  promises  of  God,  and  cheered 
])y  the  hope  of  the  resurrection  from  the  dead.     But  for  tlus 
prophecy,  the  history  might  have  been  otherwise.     It  shows 
what  a  power  the  hope  of  Messiah's  Second  Coming  had  even 
^vilh  Old  Testament  saints.     And  how   the  example    of    the 
.Maccabees  inspired   Xcw  Testament  believers  to   witness  a 
good  confession,  '^  looking  unto  Jesus,"  tlie  wcrds  of  Paul  suf- 
fice to  show.  They  are  set  forth  as  an  example  for  us.    "  The\-, 
Avithout  us.  are  not  made  perfect." 


"  The  earliest  attempt  to  interpret  the  seventy  weeks  was  in  Macca- 
bean  times.  Ignorantly,  the  Two  Little  Horns  and  the  prince  that 
shall  come  were  identified,  and  a  perverted  reckoning  was  accepted 
by  the  Alexandrian  amenders  of  the  Septuagint.  Both  the  reckoning 
and  the  Septuagint  were  repelled  by  the  post-lMaccabean  Palestinian 
Jews  and  by  the  Christian  Church  which  adopted  the  text  of  Theo- 
dotion.  Our  Lord's  use  of  the  expression,  'abomination  of  desolation,' 
Matt,  xxiv:  15,  applying  it  to  future  times  beyond  His  own  day,  proves 
that  He  interpreted  Dan.  ix:  26,  27,  as  a  double  prophecy,  pointing 
first  to  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  and  next  to  the  70th  week  that 
closes  the  Times  of  the  Gentiles.  His  own  prophecy  thereby  became 
a  double  one,  and  for  this  reason  the  admonition  is  given,  '  Let  him 
that  readeth  understand.'  Clearly,  His  mind  was  resting  on  all  the 
places  in  Daniel  where  the  expression,  'abomination  of  desolation,' 
is  used,  or  the  idea  is  given,  viz.,  Dan.  ix:  27;  xi:  ^i;  xii:  11;  the 
times  of  Antiochus  being  regarded  as  typical  of  the  last  times.  Here 
is  seen  that  law  of  delay  in  prophecy  and  history  by  which  the  end 
of  one  age  becomes  the  type  of  another." — Fraidi. 


(104) 


Chapter  VI. 

DANIEL,   CHAPTER   IX.-THE   SEVENTY   WEEKS. 

Chapter  IX.  affords  a  fourth  and  signal  confirmation  of  our 
thesis,  viz.,  that  the  Kingdom  of  Christ  can  never  come  to 
victory  over  all  tl-e  earth,  till  the  Coming  of  the  Son  of  Man 
in  the  clouds  of  heaven.  The  great  prediction,  here,  is  the 
answer  to  a  prayer  of  the  prophet,  and  is  found  in  the  last  four 
verses  of  the  chapter,  ix:  24-27.  The  angel  speaks  in  plain  and 
obvious  language,  although  sometimes  of  difficult  construc- 
tion, owing  to  its  brief  and  lapidary  style,  piling  clause  upon 
clause,  and  even  of  various  interpretation.  The  first  necessity 
is  that  of  a  good  translation,  King  James'  version  being  both 
obscure  and  defective,  the  Revised  A'ersion  itself  not  without 
fault.  Twenty  different  events  are  here  foretold,  in  four  verses, 
extending  over  the  Times  of  the  Gentiles,  and  relating  entirely 
to  Jewish  affairs.  Among  these  are  the  Return  of  the  Jews 
from  exile  under  the  edict  of  Cyrus,  the  Building  of  the  Second 
Temple  and  the  City  in  times  of  distress;  the  First  Coming  of 
Christ,  His  Crucifixion,  the  Destruction  of  the  Rebuilt  Temple 
and  City,  and  subjection  of  the  land  and  people  to  war  and 
desolations  down  to  the  end  of  Gentile  times.  Still  further,  the 
coming  of  the  Antichrist  is  again  predicted  as  that  of  "a  prince, 
tlic  one  that  shall  come,"  (alluding  to  chap,  vii:  8,)  a  Desolator, 
on  wing  of  abomination,  invading  the  Holy  Land,  having  pre- 
viously enacted  a  covenant,  for  a  Week  of  Seven  Years,  with 
the  masses  of  the  Jewish  people  while  in  their  unbelief,  granting 
the  practice  of  their  ancient  worship  for  financial  considera- 
ation,  as  did  Antiochus,  and  as  matter  of  political  necessity; 
then,  in  the  middle  of  the  "Week,"  breaking  his  covenant  by 
causing  "oblation  and  sacrifice"  to  cease,  and  inaugurating  the 

(105) 


io6  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

Great  Tri1)u]ation.  I'inally,  his  end  is  announced  as  "in  the 
flood,"  i.  e.,  in  the  military  overflowing  of  the  Holy  City,  and 
under  the  outpoured  vials  of  the  wrath  of  God.  Everywhere 
in  the  Scriptures  a  military  invasion  is  compared  to  the  rising 
01  a  flood  advancing  on  the  land.  Still,  again,  the  angel  pre- 
dicts that,  so  far  from  the  withdrawal  of  the  divine  mercy  from 
the  seed  of  Abraham,  the  Lord  will  crown  their  last  struggle 
with  a  sixfold  blessing,  the  sum  to  them  of  all  salvation.  Six 
great  events  shall  occur,  viz.,  (i)  the  finishing  of  Israel's  na- 
tional apostasy,  called  "7//r  transgression,  or  breach  of  God's 
covenant;  (2)  tlie  cessation  or  end  of  their  "sins;"  \i)  the  cover- 
ing of  their  "iniquity;"  (4)  the  introduction  of  enduring  "right- 
eousness;" (5)  the  sealing  or  verification  of  "prophecy  and 
vision"  concerning  them,  and  (6)  the  consecration  of  a  new 
"  Holy  of  Holies,"  or  Sanctuary,  unto  God.  In  short,  Israel 
will  never  more  be  apostate  from  God,  but  pardoned,  renewed 
and  restored,  will  serve  Him  in  "newness  of  the  spirit  and  not 
.n  the  oldness  of  the  letter,''  nor  even  wander  from  His  com- 
mandments. Reconciled  to  God  by  atoning  blood  and  sancti- 
fied by  the  Holy  Spirit,  they  shall  be  His  people,  He  their  God. 
The  W'hole  prediction  is  given  under  the  terms  of  a  definite 
chronological  scheme  of  definite  periods  of  time,  with  their 
included  intervals,  stretching  from  Daniel's  day  to  the  Second 
Coming  of  Christ. 

I.  As  to  the  Date  of  the  Prophecy.  It  was  "in  the  first  year  of 
Darius,  the  son  of  Ahashuerus  of  the  seed  of  the  Medes,  ix:  i, 
who  was  "made  king,"  by  Cyrus,  "over  the  realm  of  the  Chal- 
deans," ix:  I,  2,  and  from  whom  he  "received  (not  "took") 
the  kingdom"  when  Bab\lon  fell.  No  exegete  denies  the  dif- 
ficulties of  the  problem  here  presented,  and  the  Higher  Criti- 
•4sm  has  made  the  most  of  them,  in  disparagement  of  Daniel's 
book.  Even  Professor  Sayce,  imagining  that  the  monuments 
have  told  us  all  they  have  to  tell  upon  the  question,  has  con- 
cluded that  a  stupendous  error  is  here,  and  that  the  supposed 
Maccabean  writer  of  the  book  has  "  reflected  "  the  times  of 
jJarius  Hystaspes  into  the  times  of  Cyrus,  and  Farrar  with  a 
keen  zest  for  anything  that  tends  to  make  Daniel  a  myth,  and 


CHAPTER  IX— THE  SEJ'EyTY  li  EEK^.  107 

his  book  a  nursery-tale,  leaps  at  the  ungt;arded  concessicn. 
Scholars  and  archaeologists,  of  equal  authority  with  Sayce, 
earnestly  dispute  his  conclusions.  It  is  refreshing  to  hear  a 
life-long  student  of  such  problems  as  the  one  here  presented, 
Professor  Hommel,  say  this  present  year,  "I  see  signs  of  the 
approach  of  a  new  era  in  which  men  will  be  able  to  brush  aside 
the  cobweb  theories  of  the  so-called  "  Higher  Critics,"  and 
leaving  such  now  old-fashioned  errors  behind  them,  attain  to 
a  clearer  perception  of  the  real  facts."  What  we  need  is  more 
"  Fresh  Light  from  the  Monuments,"  and  a  better  knowledge 
o:  ancient  history.  This  much  is  certain,  that  it  was  the  custom 
of  Oriental  kings,  Egyptian,  Assyrian,  Babylonian  and  Per- 
sian, to  associate  with  themselves  a  co-regent,  and  of  history 
to  date  the  reign  of  the  associate,  not  from  the  date  of  his  sc's 
reign,  but  from  that  of  his  co-rcgciicy,  and  to  honor  the  associ- 
ate with  the  title  of  "  king."  In  the  words  of  Eeswick,  "  The 
reigns  of  the  kings  were  counted  from  the  date  of  co-regency, 
so  that  the  total  length  of  a  dynasty  is  greater  than  the  actual 
length  would  be  by  counting  the  sole  reign  of  each.  The  asso- 
ciate became  the  heir  apparent,  and  was  henceforth  regarded 
as  kingand  successor  to  the  throne."  Thus  Daniel  calls  Ne'.U-had- 
nezzar  "king"  before  his  father's  death,  and  Celsliazzar  "king" 
before  the  death  of  Xabonnaid.  \Vhat  he  teaches  as  to  Darius  the 
Alede  is  that  Cyrus,  having  captured  Babylon,  and  being  king 
of  Babylon  as  well  as  of  Persia,  delegated  the  rule  of  Babylon 
to  Darius  the  Mede,  he  Cyrus  remaining  in  the  field  to  pursue 
his  conquests.  Thus  B.  C.  538  was  the  'Tu'st  year  of  Darius, 
the  son  of  Ahashuerus,  of  the  seed  of  the  Medes."  \\'ith  a 
masterly  hand,  Lenormant,  Diisterwald,  Unger,  and  many 
others  have  defended  the  verity  of  Daniels  statements.  The 
objection  that  "  Darius  the  Alede"  is,  by  this  name,  unknown 
to  history  and  to  the  monuments,  is  absolutely  worthless,  since 
ancient  lustory  omits,  in  various  authors,  the  names  of  many 
kingfs  whose  reigns  were  brief,  and  the  names  of  Abraham, 
Pul,  and  Sargon,  were  unknown  to  the  monuments  till  recent 
excavations.  Equally  vain  is  the  objection  that  Darius  and 
Ahashuerus  are  not  Median,  but  Persian  names.    It  is  set  aside 


io8  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

completely  by  the  facts  (i)  of  the  common  origin  and  affinities 
of  the  Medes  and  Persians,  and  of  their  languages,  their  conti 
guity  and  nii^rcourse,  the  use  of  the  same  wor-ds  and  names 
under  different  forms,  and  the  plurality  of  royal  titles  used  as 
proper  names  and  applied  to  different  persons;  (2)  the  fact  that 
both  Cyrus  and  Xerxes  were  called  Ahashuerus,  a  name  de- 
rived from  the  old  Persian  "  Kshayarsha,"  which  is  the  Aledian 
"  Uvakshatra,"  Persianized  in  form  into  "  Kshayarsha,"  He- 
braized into  "Ahashverosh,"  Graecized  into  "Kyaxares,"  and 
Latinized  into  "Assuerus;"  (3)  the  fact  that  Darius,  both  a  title 
and  proper  name,  is  the  Median  "  Dareh,"  a  "holder"  or  "actu- 
al ruler,"  its  old  Persian  equivalent  "Daravesh,"  its  Hebrew 
form  "  Darjavesh,"  or  Darius,  its  Greek  "  Dareios."     Again, 
in  the  words  of  Rawlinson,  "The  language  of  the  Persians  was 
almost  identical  with  that  of  the  Medes.    The  remnant  left  us. 
of  Median  speech,  bears  out  the  statement  that  substantially 
one  and  the  same  tongue  was  spoken  by  both  people.     Many 
Median  names  are  absolutely  identical  with  Persian.     Others 
are  merely  variants.      Kyaxares   (Cyaxares)   is  the   Grecian 
form    of    the    Aledian    Uvakshatara."      (4)    The    fact    that 
notwithstanding     all     criticism,      Xenophon's     account      is 
still  trustworthy,  and  that  Astyages  the  Mede  was  the  Ahash- 
uerus in  Dan.  ix:  i,  his  son  Cyaxares  H.,  no  other  than  the 
Median  Daravesh,  to  whom  Cyrus,  as  a  stroke  of  policy,  com- 
mitied  the  rule  over  Babylon,  in  lieu  of  the  overthrow  of  the 
Ivledian  empire,  the  Median  and  Persian  dynasties  now  united 
in  one;  (5)  that  the  temporary  appointment  of  Gobryas,  the 
general  of  Cyrus  who  entered  Babylon,  as  governor  of  the 
city,  in  no  way  conflicts  with  this;  (6)  that  the  intermarriage 
of  the  royal  houses  confirms  it,  and  (7)  that  the  statements  of 
Daniel,  so  long  familiar  with  all  the  details  of  Median,  Persian 
and  Babylonian  history,  are  not  to  be  discredited  by  any  haste, 
rashness,  ignorance  or  speculations  of  modern  critics,  at  whose 
blunders  in  deciphering  many  inscriptions,  and  at  whose  con- 
clusions, Daniel,  were  he  alive,  could  only  smile.    "  Darius  the 
Mede"  is  as  historical  as  Daniel  himself,  and  the  date  of  the 
prophecy  is  538  B.C.     Time  will  solve  whatever  difficulties 
attach  to  the  discussion  of  the  question. 


CHAPTER  IX.— THE  SEVENTY  WEEKS.  109 

II.  As  to  the  Place  of  the  Prophecy.  That  it  was  Babylon 
is  clear  from  the  fact  that  the  exiles  had  not  yet  been  released 
from  captivity,  that  in  this  year,  under  Darius,  Daniel  was 
thrown  into  the  Lion's  Den,  and  that  the  whole  prayer  of  the 
prophet  assumes  his  presence  in  the  heathen  capital  on  the 
banks  of  the  Euphrates,  pleading  for  the  restoration. 

III.  As  to  the  Occasion  of  the  Prophecy.  It  was  the  fact 
(i)  that  Babylon  had  fallen,  (2)  that  68  of  the  70  years  of  the 
captivity  had  expired,  (3)  that  Daniel  had  betaken  himself 
"  by  prayer  and  supplications  with  fasting  and  sackcloth,"  ix: 
3,  to  plead  with  God,  if  so  be  that  he  might  advance  the  hour 
of  Israel's  deliverance,  and  not  delay  their  release,  and  (4) 
that,  although  he  "understood,"  from  Jeremiah  and  the  sacred 
books,  "the  number  of  the  years  the  Lord  would  accomplish," 
even  70,  "in  the  desolations  of  Jerusalem,"  ix:  2,  yet,  perad- 
venture,  the  time  might  be  conditional  in  God's  purpose,  and 
the  Lord,  full  of  mercy,  might  shorten  it  just  a  little,  and  now, 
even  now,  end  the  captivity;  all  the  more  since  Babylon  had 
already  fallen!  He  knew  well  the  enormity  of  Israel's  trans- 
gression, for  he  had  the  Pentateuch  before  him,  and  had  read 
"the  curse, and  the  oath  written  in  the  Law  of  Moses," ix:  11,13. 
He  had  the  prophets  before  him,  the  whole  extant  canon  of 
the  Old  Testament,  "Hassepharim,"  the  "Biblia,"  or  "Books," 
and  saw  the  mighty  promises  of  mercy  and  love  even  to  a 
sinful  people  not  forsaken,  ix:  2.  He  was  himself  a  writer  of 
Holy  Scripture,  vii:  i ;  viii:  26;  x:  21 ;  xii:  4,  9;  Matth.  xxiv:  15; 
a  deep  "searcher"  of  the  Word  of  God,  i  Pet.  i:  10-12;  2  Pet. 
i:  19-24;  and  if  any  had  a  claim  on  the  ear  of  God,  it  was  he. 
Therefore  did  he  plead.  In  pressing  his  suit  he  confesses  the 
crimes  of  the  whole  nation  of  Israel  from  the  day  of  its  birth, 
and  pleads  with  his  mouth  in  the  dust — the  crimes  of  "Judah," 
"Jerusalem,"  "all  Israel  near  and  far,"  their  "kings,  princes, 
judges,  and  fathers,"  the  nation  God  had  delivered  "out  of  the 
land  of  Egypt,"  and  implores  "forgiveness  and  mercy"  for  the 
sanctuary,  city  and  people,  even  "the  People  of  the  Saints  of 
the  Most  High,"  "  Thy  City  Jerusalem,"  "  Thy  Sanctuary," 
"  Thy  People,"  the  whole  organized  nationality  of  Israel,  as 


no  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

one  body,  now  broken  and  scattered,  and  made  a  "reproach." 
And  the  burden  of  his  prayer  is  this,  that  God  will  end  Israel's 
apostasy,  i.  e.,  the  great  "transgression,"  pardon  their  "sins," 
and  cover  their  "iniquity,"  closing  their  "rebellion"  against 
Him,  and  make  haste  to  restore  them,  and  rebuild  Jerusalem, 
and  "do,"  and  "defer  not"  for  His  own  name's  sake,  ix:  3,  19. 
He  pleads  with  a  "covenant-keeping  God,"  for  those  who  had 
broken  the  covenant,  ix:  4,  11,  13. 

IV.  The  Answer  to  the  Prayer,  the  Prophecy  Itself.  It  is 
in  the  last  four  verses  of  the  chapter.  It  came  at  3  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon,  or  "about  the  time  of  the  evening  oblation,"  ix: 
20,  21.  At  such  a  time  "Gabriel,"  whom  he  "had  seen  in  the 
vision,"  in  chap,  viii.,  "being  caused  to  fly  swiftly,"  sped  his  way 
through  the  constellations,  entered  the  earth's  atmosphere, 
and  alighted  near  Daniel,  with  a  message  from  the  throne  of 
God,  and  "touched"  him.  He  accosts  him:  "O  Daniel,  greatly 
beloved!  " — man  failed  with  holy  desires  after  the  kingdom  of 
God — "  I  am  now  come  to  give  thee  skill  and  understanding." 
"  The  order  came  to  me,  at  the  beginning  of  thy  supplication, 
and  I  am  come  to  show  thee,  for  thou  art  greatly  beloved. 
Therefore  understand  the  matter,"  i.  e.,  the  import  of  my  ap- 
pearing here,  "and  consider  the  vision,"  ix:  23. 

V.24,"Seventy  sevens  (of  years)  are  decreed  upon  thy  people 
(the  Jews)  and  upon  thy  holy  city  (Jerusalem)  to  finish  the 
transgression,  and  to  make  an  end  of  sins,  and  to  cover  over 
iniquity,  and  to  cause  everlasting  righteousness  to  come,  ami 
to  seal  (verify)  vision  and  prophet,  and  to  anoint  a  holy  of 
holies." 

V.  25,  "  Know,  therefore,  and  discriminate;  from  the  issuing 
of  a  word  to  restore,  and  to  build  Jerusalem,  unto  Prince  Mes- 
siah, shall  be  Seven  Sevens  (of  years),  and  Sixty  and  Two  Sev- 
ens; she  shall  be  restored  and  built  as  to  street  and  rampart 
(street  and  wall),  and  in  distress  shall  be  the  times." 

V.  26,  "And  after  those  Sixty-two  Sevens,  Messiah  shall  be 
cut  ofT,  and  there  is  not  to  Him  (no  guilt  and  no  just  judg- 
ment); and  the  city  and  the  sanctuary  shall  they  destroy,  viz., 
the  people  of  a  prmce,  the  one  that  is  to  come,  and  his  end 


CHAPTER  IX.— THE  SEVENTY  WEEKS. 


Ill 


shall  be  in  the  overflowing;  and  unto  that  end  shall  be  war,  a 
decreed  (measure  or  limit)  of  desolations." 

V.  2/,  "And  he  (the  prince  to  come)  shall  cause  to  prevail  a 
covenant  for  the  many,  One  Seven;  and  he  shall  cause  sacrifice 
and  offering-  to  cease.  Half  of  that  Seven;  and  upon  wing  of 
abominations  (he  shall  come)  a  dcsolator,  even  until  the  con- 
sunimation  and  (until)  that  which  is  decreed  (God's  wrath)  is 
poured  upon  the  one  desolating." 

This  marvelous  prophecy  and  answer  to  the  prayer  covers 
every  point  made  in  the  prayer  itself,  as  to  the  Jew,  Jerusalem, 
the  Sanctuary,  unveiling  the  whole  future  of  Israel  down  to 
the  Destruction  of  the  last  Antichrist.  The  restoration  of  the 
Jews  pursuant  to  "a  word"  or  order,  issued  by  Cyrus,  B.C.  536, 
the  Building  of  the  Second  Temple,  and  the  City,  the  First  Ad- 
vent of  Messiah,  His  Rejection  by  the  Jewish  Nation,  and  be- 
cause of  it,  the  Destruction  of  Jerusalem  and  the  Temple  by 
Titus,  and  the  Times  of  the  Gentiles  following,  full  of  war  and 
desolations;  all  these,  with  the  conversion  of  the  Jews  to  Christ, 
a  pardoned  and  righteous  nation,  apostate  no  more,  but  serv- 
ing God  in  their  own  land,  in  a  new  sanctuary,  all  are  here  pre- 
dicted in  the  clearest  manner.  That  all  this  mercy  to  Israel  is 
grounded  in  the  atoning  w^ork  of  the  Messiah  at  His  first  ad- 
vent, and  that  in  Him  personally— that  "  Holy  Thing"  born  ot 
the  virgin.  Himself  a  "  Temple,"  "Altar,"  and  "  Sacrifice  " 
anointed  l^y  the  Spirit — and  that  in  each  believer  "a  temple  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,"  and  in  the  whole  church  collectively,  a  "spir- 
itual house,"  the  prophecy  has  been  fulfilled,  is  beyond  all 
question.  As  little  to  be  questioned  is  the  fact  that  the  six-fold 
blessings  promised  to  Israel,  in  verse  24,  as  the  outcome  of  the 
70  weeks  with  their  intervals,  are  applied,  in  the  New  Testa- 
m.cnt,  to  the  literal  seed  of  Abraham  according  to  the  flesh — 
Israel  in  the  Old  Testament  sense — and  eminently  so  in  Paul's 
epistles  and  in  John's  Apocalypse.  There  is,  therefore,  a  glori- 
ous future  for  the  ancient  people  of  God.  That  the  Jews  wil) 
be  gathered  again  to  their  own  land,  be  born  of  the  Spirit, 
converted  to  Christ,  and  established  as  a  holy  nation,  at  the 
second  coming  of  Christ,  and  be  as  "life  from  the  dead"  to  the 


112  DANIELS  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

nations,  is  as  certain  as  the  word  of  God  is  true.  The  wealth 
of  the  proof  is  amazing.  We  read  it  in  Isa.  Hx:  21,  22;  Rom. 
xi:  25;  Acts  iii:  19-21  (R.  V.)  Isa.  Ixv'.:  5-16;  xi:  4;  2  Thess. 
ii:  2,  8;  Dan.  vii:  21-27;  ^^-  40-45;  ^ii:  i-3>  7!  J^Iic.  iv:  8;  Ezek. 
xxxvi:  24-28;  xxxvii:  1-28;  Jer.  xxxi:  33-40;  Zeph.  iii:  8-20; 
Zech.  xii:  2-14;  xiii:  i;  xiv:  2-1 1;  16-21;  Matth.  xxiii:  39; 
xxiv:  25-28,  29-31;  Rev.  vii:  4-8;  xiv:  1-5;  xx:  9;  and  scores 
of  other  texts  too  numerous  to  enumerate.  And  "the  strength 
of  Israel  will  not  lie,"  Dcut.  xxxii:  36-43;  xxxiii:  26-29.  The 
six-fold  blessing  foretold  in  Dan.  ix:  24,  is  simply  the  sum  of 
the  whole  Messianic  hope  of  Israel,  to  be  fulfilled  in  them, 
literally  in  the  Time  of  the  End.  The  Israel,  Jacob,  Judah, 
Jerusalem,  Zion,  of  Old  Testament  prophesy,  are  not  the 
"  Church,"  but  the  literal  Israel,  Jacob,  Judah,  Jerusalem, 
Zion,  of  Old  Testament  history  and  of  the  Four  Gospels,  the 
Acts,  the  Epistles,  and  the  Apocalypse. 

V.  The  Interpretation  of  the  "Seventy  Weeks."  The  under- 
standing of  the  weeks  is  indispensable  to  every  student  of 
prophecy.  Neither  our  Lord's  Olivet  Discourse  concerning 
the  End,  nor  Paul's  Thessalonian  letters  concerning  the  Tribu- 
lation and  the  Antichrist,  nor  John's  Apocalypse  can  be  under- 
stood without  them.  It  is  no  objection  that  men  have  failed, 
so  long,  to  understand  them.  They  were  given  to  be  under- 
stood; "  Know,  therefore,  and  understand,"  ix:  25.  The  angel 
declares  that  in  the  "  Time  of  the  End  "  they  shall  be  under- 
stood, xii:  4.  From  the  bosom  of  the  prophecy  a  sun-burst 
of  surpassing  brilliancy  will  break  forth,  as  Israel's  deliverance 
draws  nigh.  The  book  is  not  an  undecipherable  hieroglyph,  a 
Sphinx  whose  riddle  is  insoluble,  least  of  all  an  apocalypse 
whose  apocalypse  is  unapocalxpscd,  but  an  eftulgent  unveiling 
of  the  future,  whose  light  is  obscured  only  by  our  ignorance. 

The  "Seventy  Sevens."  or  "Weeks,"  selected  from  the  whole 
course  of  time,  as  weeks  relating  entirely  to  Jewish  affairs,  are 
Weeks  of  Years,  each  seventh  part  being  literally  one  year. 
As  seven  days  constitute  a  week,  so  seven  years  constitute  the 
prophetic  week.  All  the  weeks  are  of  equal  chronological 
measurement,  each  week  consisting  of  seven  literal  years,  or 


CHAPTER  IX.-THE  SErENTY  WEEKS.  113 

2,5^0  literal  days.     The  sum  is,  therefore,  490  years.     These 
weeks  are  distributed  into  three  divisions  of  7,62,1,  that  is,  into 
49.434.7»  years  respectively,  and,  excepting  Babylon,  span  the 
whole  liciglit  of  the  Colossus  in  ch.  ii.,  and  the  lives  of  the 
Tour  Beasts  in  ch.  vii.,  i.  e.,  from  B.  C.  536,  to  the  second  com- 
nig  of  Christ.     They  cover  the  whole  subsequent  period  of 
Israel's  national  prostration   under  the   Gentiles.     They  are 
said  to  be  "  Nihtak,"  ix:  24,  "severed  off,"  "decided,"  "deter- 
mined," along  the  course  of  Gentile  time,  and  given  entirely  to 
Jewish  afifairs.     Two  Intervals  come  in  between  them,   one 
unseen  and  undefined  between  the  third  and  fourth  weeks,  the 
other  stated  as  between  the  69th  and  70th  weeks.     They  are, 
therefore,  not  to  be  counted  unbrokenly.     The  first  group  of 
seven  falls  into  two  groups  of  three  and  four,  i.  e.,  of  twenty- 
one  years  and  twenty-eight  years,  as  the  history  of  the  time 
shows.    The  true  starting-point  of  the  70  weeks  is  the  Edict  of 
Cyrus,  B.  C.  536,  or  "going  forth  of  a  word  to  restore  and 
build  Jerusalem,"  Dan.  ix:  25;  Ezra  i:  i,  4;  2  Chron.  xxxvi: 
22,  23;  Isa.  xliv:  26-28;  xlv:  1-6.     The  beginning  of  the  21 
years  was  that  Edict,  their  end  the  completion  of  the  Second 
Temple,  in  6th  Darius  Hystaspes,  B.  C.  515.    Then  came  the 
first  Interval  of  57  years.    The  beginning  of  the  28  years,  fol- 
lowing this  Interval,  was  the  commission  of  Ezra,  in  7th  Arta- 
xerxes,  B.  C.  458,  their  end  the  close  of  Nehemiah's  activity 
or  end  of  the  Restoration-period,  B.C.  430,  in  34th  Artaxerxes, 
Ezra  vi:  15;  vii:  1-7;  Neh.  xiii:  6,  7;  v.  14.     The  Interval  of 
57  years  consists,  therefore,  of  the  following  periods,  (i)  from 
6th  Darius  to  the  end  of  his  reign,  515-485,  a  period  of  thirty 
years.     (2)  The  entire  reign  of  Xerxes  the  Great,  485-464,  a 
period  of  21  years.     (3)  Six  years  of  the  reign  of  Artaxerxes, 
464-458,  a  period  of  six  years  ending  with  7th  Artaxerxes. 
Ezra  vii:  1-7.* 

*That  the  Jctvs  will  build  their  Temple  again  is  certain.  Also 
revive  their  bloody  sacrifices,  (i)  Isaiah  predicts  it.  Isa.  Ixvi:  1-4. 
(2)  Gabriel  says  it  will  be  the  'result  of  a  covenant.  (3)  Jesus  Christ 
predicts  the  "abomination."'  Matt,  xxiv:  15.  "of  which  that  in  Dan. 
viii:   13,  14;  xi:  31,  was  the  type.     (4)   Paul  says  the  "  Man  of  Sin" 


114 


DANIELS  GREAT  PROPHECY. 


The  sum  of  this  Interval,  304-21+6  is  57  years.  The  Restor- 
ation-period was  a  Double-period,  the  total  secular  time  bein-; 
106  years  (21+57+28^=106)  of  which  the  21  and  28  were  tho 
first  "  Seven  Weeks,"  or  49  years,  assigned  of  God  for  Restor- 
ation-work, the  uncounted  Interval  being-  one  of  open  apostasy 
from  His  covenant.    The  diagram  of  the  time  stands  thus: 

THE   RESTORATION   PERIOD. 

BC.         3        B.C      /Inter\-al\^^C^     _4         B  C. 
"536        21  515      \  57 }  rs.  /      45S       28         430 

the  first  section,  that  of  the  "  Days  of  Zerubbabel,"  Neh.  v:  49: 
the  last  that  of  the  "  Days  of  Ezra  the  Scribe  and  Nehemiah," 
Neh.  v:  26,  47.* 

The  rest  of  the  interpretation  is  not  difficult.  The  62  weeks 
reach  from  the  close  of  the  Restoration  to  the  birth  of  Christ, 
A.  D.  I.  These  imited  to  the  seven  preceding  are  69  weeks, 
or  483  years,  to  which  adding  the  57,  the  result  is  540,  the  ex- 
cess of  four  years  due  to  the  error  in  our  common  Dionysian 
reckoning,  the  true  date  being  B.  C.  536.  Thus,  by  the  dis- 
covery that  the  Interval  of  57  years  was  really  concealed  in  the 

shall  sit  in  the  "  temple  of  God,"  in  the  time  just  preceding  the  Second 
Advent,  the  rebuilt  temple  at  Jerusalem.  2  Thess.  ii:  4.  (5)  John  ex- 
hibits the  Anti-Christ's  Week,  the  70th,  and  the  building  of  the  tem- 
ple, Rev.  xi:  1-3,  7,  the  very  time  given  in  Isa.  Ixvi:  1-5.  (6)  Daniel 
foretells  tlie  period  of  the  reconstruction  of  converted  Israel's  worship, 
after  the  revived  time  of  Israel's  national  repentance,  faith,  and  Pente- 
costal baptism  by  the  Spirit,. Zech.  xii:  10-14:  xiii:  i.  The  true  title 
of  Isaiah,  chapter  Ixvi.,  and  Revelation,  chapter  xi.,  is  Scenes  in  Jerusa- 
lem tinder  the  Anti-Christ.  As  to  Ezekiel's  Temple  and  its  sacrifices,  see 
"  The  Thousand  Yean  in  Both  Testaments,  by  Rev.  Nathaniel  IVest,  pp. 
424-434.    F.  H.  Rcvcll,  Chicago  and  Nezv  York." 

Note.  "  Silently  the  book  of  Ezra  passes  over  the  time  following 
the  dedication  of  the  second  Temple,  and  a  gap  of  more  than  fifty 
years  yawns  unbridged  before  us."  Rabbi  Rosenzwcig,  "  Das  Jahr- 
hundcrt  nach  d.  Bab.  Exile,"  p.  50. 

"  The  times  of  Zerubbabel  are  not  connected  with  the  times  of 
Ezra,  in  the  book  of  Ezra,  except  by  the  phrase  "after  these  things," 


The  Resu  rrection. 

The  Seco  nd    Adve  nt.     After  the  Sixth  Vial. 

Midd'e  of  70th  Week. 


The  Kingdom. 
The  DeHverance. 

End  of  70th  Week. 


6  w 

o 


The  Anti, Christ. 


Beginning  of  70th  Week. 


W 


oJ     O 

O  P 


U 


Destructi.onof  City  and  Sanctuary.     A.  D.  70, 
The  Cruci  fixion.    A  fter  the  62  Weeks.     A.  D.  33. 


The  First 


Advent. 


End  of  th  e  Four  W 
End  of  In  terval. 

1;:;  57  Years' 


Birth  of  Christ.  A.  D.  i. 
The  Maccabees.  1 63 -165. 
Antiochus.     175-164. 


eeks.     Y^ud.  of  Restoration.     430. 

Beginning  of  the  Four  Weeks.  45S. 

Interval. 

End  of  Fi'rst  Three    Weeks.     Temple  Finished.     515. 
Edict   of  I  Cyrus.     |The  Liberation.     B.  C.  536. 
(115) 


to 


THE    SEVENTIETH    WEEK. 

Dan.   ix:   27. 


^ 

m 

3V2,  1260. 

0 

3^^,    1260. 

C 

Cw 

The  Great  Tribulation. 

< 

This  first  Half- Week  is 

P 

Filled,  partly  in  Dan.  ix: 

!^ 

Unfilled,  in  Daniel  ix:  27. 

0 

27;  vii:  25;  xii:  7;  and 

< 

further,    in    Revelation 

rt 

Filled,  in   Revelation  xi:  2. 

<u 

xii:   6,    14;   xiii:    5;    xi: 

> 

H 

3.  7- 

0 

u 

The   Antichrist's   Week. 
The  End. 


(116) 


CHAPTER  IX.— THE  SEVENTY  WEEKS.  117 

breast  of  the  "  Seven  Weeks,"  the  perplexing  problem,  un- 
solved for  2,200  years  is  satisfied  at  last,  and  Biblical  and  secu- 
lar chronology  brought  into  perfect  harmony. 

The  second  Interval  lies  between  the  69th  and  70th  weeks, 
with  two  great  events  at  its  head,  the  Crucifixion  or  Christ, 
A.  D.  30,  and  the  Destruction  of  Jerusalem,  A.  D.  70.  It  is 
called  "Uiito  the  Ejid/'  Dan.  ix:  26;  interpreted  by  our  Lord  as 
meaning,  "Until  the  Times  of  the  Gentiles  be  fulfilled,"  Luke 
xxi:  24.  During  this  period,  1,826  years  of  which  have  passed 
away  since  the  legions  of  Titus  camped  on  Mount  Olivet, 
Jerusalem  has  been  "trodden  down  of  the  Gentiles,"  unable  to 
rise  to  her  glory  because  of  the  unbelief  of  her  sons,  and  the 
occupation  of  the  Holy  Land  by  a  "  European  Concert "  that 
gives  to  the  Turk  his  power.  Upon  the  Holy  City  "war  and 
desolations"  are  decreed  and  upon  the  people  "dispersion"  till 
the  "  End  "  of  their  weary  way,  when,  under  the  providence 
of  God,  yet  after  severe  conflict,  Palestine  will  become  the 
asylum  of  the  Hebrew  race,  reclaimed  from  Gentile  hoofs,  a 
land  "married  to  the  Lord,"  her  city  a  "city  sought  out,  not 
forsaken,"  her  people  "the  redeemed  of  the  Lord,"  a  holy 
nation  of  which  it  is  said,  "  In  righteousness  shalt  thou  be 
established;  thou  shalt  be  far  from  oppression,  for  thou  shalt 
not  fear;  and  from  terror,  for  it  shall  not  come  nigh  thee." 
Isa.  Ix:  1-22;  Ixi:  i-ii;  Ixii:  1-12;  liv:  1-17. 

But  prior  to  this  glorious  outcome,  lies  the  "  70th  week." 
It  coincides  with  and  closes  the  "  Times  of  the  Gentiles."     It 

Ezra  vii:  i,  i.  e.,  after  the  dedication  of  the  Second  Temple,  Ezra  vi: 
15.  But  it  would  be  ridiculous  to  conclude  that  no  Interval  separated 
these  two  great  epochs.  We  know  that  more  than  50  years  flowed 
between  them."— D'Envieu,  Le  Livre  du  Prophete  Daniel,  Tome  II., 
B.,  p.  1454. 

After  patient  study,  I  have  been  led  to  this  solution  of  this  age-long 
problem,  and  have  given  it  in  full  discussion  in  a  previous  work. 
Reviewed  widely,  and  accepted  by  all  who  have  tested  the  proofs,  it 
remains  unassailed  from  any  side.  See  "  The  Thousand  Years  in  Both 
Testaments,"  by  Rev.  Nathaniel  West,  Pref.  VII.,  pp.  152-1G1, 
175-197-  F-  H.  Revell,  Chicago  and  New  York.  It  has  remained  a 
secret,  till  now,  that  the  Interval,  here  mentioned,  lay  concealed  by  the 
angel  in  the  bosom  of  the  first  seven  weeks. — N.W. 


Il8  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

is  the  last  "7  years,"  or  "One  week,"  in  Dan.  ix:  27,  the  Anti- 
christ's week,  the  week  of  the  "  Little  Horn"  in  ch.  vii.,  the 
week  of  "the  prince  that  shall  come  on  wing  of  abomination," 
ix:  27,  invading  the  Holy  Land,  and  swooping  like  a  vulture 
on  its  prey.  His  last  campaign  is  given  in  Dan.  xi:  40-45,  and 
elaborated  in  Zech.  xii:  2-8;  xiv:  1-4,  12-15,  ^^^  i"  Jo^^  iii- 
9-17.  The  week  is  opened  by  the  advent  of  the  Antichrist  and 
his  "covenant"  with  the  Jewish  masses,  Dan.  ix:  27,  a  treaty 
whereby  the  power  holding  Palestine  will  concede  a  peaceful 
modus  vivcndi  with  the  Jews,  tolerating  their  ancient  worship, 
and  obtaining  from  their  magnates  financial  help  as  in  the  days 
of  Antiochus.  The  week  is  divided  into  two  equal  parts,  each 
"Half"  a  period  of  1,260  days,  or  42  months.  The  first  "Half," 
unfilled  in  Daniel,  is  filled  in  John,  Rev.  xi:  3,  with  the  preach- 
ing of  the  "Two  Witnesses"  sent  to  form  the  Jewish  Christian 
Church  of  the  "Time  of  the  End"  and  prepare  the  Jews  for  the 
Second  Coming  of  Christ.  The  "covenant"  with  the  Jewish 
masses  is  broken  in  the  middle  of  the  week,  the  revived  "obla- 
tion and  sacrifice"  being  caused  to  cease,  ix:  2^,  an  event  con- 
temporating  with  the  slaughter  of  the  "Two  Witnesses,"  Rev. 
xi:  2,  7.  This  violation  is,  doubtless,  due  to  some  signal  event 
in  the  history  of  the  Jews,  at  that  time,  to  all  appearance  their 
conversion,  and  which  leads  the  Antichrist  to  vent  his  rage 
against  all  Jews,  believing  or  unbelieving,  and  all  Christians. 
The  second  "  Half "  of  the  week  is  the  "  Great  Tribulation," 
when  the  Desolator,  on  wing  of  abomination,  shall  devastate 
everything  before  him,  occupy  Jerusalem,  sit  in  the  temple, 
then  in  process  of  completion.  Rev. ix:  i,Isa.lxvi:  1-6, claiming 
divine  honors  for  himself,  2  Thess.  ii:  4, persecuting  "the  people 
of  the  saints  of  the  Most  High"  and  all  God's  saints  everywhere, 
vii:  25;  xii:  7;  Matth.  xxiv:  15-28;  Rev.  ix:  2;  xii:  6,  14,  17; 
xiii.* 

It  is  the  final  testing  for  both  Jews  and  Gentiles  who  believe 

Note. — No  "  Year-Day  "  theory  exists  any  where  in  Daniel.  The 
word  to  Ezekiel,  "  Son  of  Man,  I  have  given  thee  each  day  for  a 
year,"  was  not  spoken  to  Daniel.  His  "  Sevens"  are  not  seven  d.:ys 
put  for  years,  but  seven  years  of  360  days  cacli,  prophetic  time — a  year 


CHAPTER  IX.-THE  SBrEXTY  WEEKS.  119 

in  Christ,  the  "Great  Tribulation"  spoken  of  in  Jer.  xxx:  7, 
as  that  of  "Jacob's  trouble,"  in  Matth.  xxiv:  15-28,  as  that  of 
"Christ's  Elect,"  in  Rev.  vii:  14,  as  that  out  of  which  the  elec- 
tion of  Israel,  vii:  4-8,  and  the  election  of  the  Gentiles,  vii:  9, 
shall  come;  and  in  Dan.  xii:  i,  as  that  which  is  followed 
by  Israel's  deliverance  and  the  resurrection  of  the  holy 
dead.  The  close  of  the  last  1,260  days  of  this  week  is 
the  close  of  the  "time,  times,  and  dividing  of  a  time,"  i.  e., 
3-i  years,  in  Dan.  vii:  25;  xii:  7,  which  is  signalized  by  the 
overthrow  of  the  Antichrist  at  the  Second  Coming  of  the  Son 
of  Man.  The  same  scene  of  the  Lord's  intervention  is  pictured 
in  Joel  iii:  16,  17;  Isa.  lix:  19-21;  Ixiii:  1-6;  Ixvi:  14-16;  Zeph. 
iii:  14-20;  Zech.  xiv:  1-5.  With  these  mighty  events  the  "70th 
week"  terminates,  viz.,  with  New-born  Israel,  the  Second  Ad- 
vent, the  Resurrection  of  the  Holy  Dead,  the  Destruction  of 
the  Antichrist,  the  Downfall  of  the  Colossus  and  the  setting  up 
of  the  Kingdom  of  Christ  in  victory  over  all  the  earth.  Then 
are  fulfilled  to  Israel  the  six-fold  blessings  predicted  in  chap, 
ix:  24,  viz.,  the  termination  of  Israel's  apostasy,  the  pardon  of 
Israel's  sins,  the  reconciliation  of  Israel  to  God,  the  introduc- 
tion of  enduring  righteousness,  the  verification  of  all  prophecy, 
and  the  consecration  of  a  new  Holy  of  Holies.  This  is  the 
glorious  goal  at  the  "  End  "  of  Israel's  long  and  painful  way. 
Here,  then,  in  ch.  ix.,  we  have  attained  a  view  of  the  world 
framed  in  a  chronology  of  the  world,  in  connection  with  the 
Jewish  race,  and  their  relation  to  the  empires  and  kingdoms 
of  the  world,  which  entitles  Daniel  to  the  proud  distinction  of 
being  the  founder  of  the  true  philosophy  of  history,  the  first 
writer  on  universal  history  itself.  The  four  great  conceptions 
of  "  Welt-Anschauung,"  "  Welt-Gcschichte,"  "  Welt-Gericht," 
and  "Wclt-Chronologie,"  are  here  represented.  The  second, 
th.ird  and  fourth  enipires,  Israel's  pathway  full  of  sorrow,  and 
Israel's  end  full  of  joy,  the  doom  of  Gentile  politics  and  power, 

fcr  a  year,  and  in  eacli  3-ear  a  day  for  a  day,  and  not  a  day  for  360 
years.  The  70th  Week  in  Daniel  ix:  27  is  not  2,500  years,  but  twice 
i,_lO,  or  2,520  days.  The  1,260,  or  "  time  two  tunes,  and  a  half,"  are 
not  i,2Co  years,  but  zV^  years.  Otherwise,  the  69  Weeks  would  be 
173,880  years!      All  the  Weeks  are  commensurate. 


I20  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

and  the  kingdom  of  God  in  victory,  all  are  here.  In  the 
inost  solemn  manner  Gabriel  informs  the  prophet  that 
the  history  of  God's  people  courses  its  way-throngh  different 
periods  of  time,  all  determined  by  the  immutable  measure- 
ments of  God;  that  as  the  road-surveyor  determines  his  track 
with  culvert,  tunnel,  curve  and  grade,  or  a  landscape  painter 
sketches  his  plan  on  the  canvass,  draws  its  lines,  fixes  its 
measurements,  projects  the  long  perspective,  the  gloomed 
defiles  and  shining  end,  so  God  has  constructed  here  the  way 
for  Israel's  feet  to  walk  and  reach  their  rest.  For  wisest  reas- 
ons, one  point,  alone,  is  undefined,  impossible  by  us  to  be  de- 
termined, until  we  come  to  it,  the  point  when  the  "what  with- 
holdeth"  is  "taken  out  of  the  way,"  and  the  70th  week  begins. 
2  Thess.  ii:  6,  7.  Still,  all  is  "  Nihtak,"  decreed,  determined, 
decided  of  God;  the  70  weeks,  the  7,62,  and  i,  the  2,300  eve- 
ning-morning, the  twice  1,260  days,  and,  as  we  shall  see,  the 
1,290  and  1,335  clays,  xii:  11,  12,  all  measured  by  Palmoni, 
the  Wonderful  Numberer,  that  Certain  Holy  One,  whose  voice 
came  from  between  the  banks  of  the  Ulai,  viii:  13.  To  "know" 
and  "understand"  the  true  interpretation  of  the  70  weeks  is 
the  first  necessity  of  the  student  of  Old  and  New  Testament 
prophecy, and  apart  from  which,  ignorant  of  God's  plan,  he  will 
flounder  and  wander  in  darkness,  the  victim  of  a  hundred  false 
time-reckonings,  and  of  expectations  born  of  enthusiasm  worse 
than  these. 

With  perfect  confidence  we  may  rest  in  this  interpretation. 
Great  diversity  of  opinion  has  existed  during  the  last  2,200 
years  as  to  the  proper  reckoning,  owing  (i)  to  defective 
chronology  and  history,  and  (2)  to  the  unseen  gap  between 
the  third  and  fourth  weeks.  Le  Long  enumerates  56  different 
views,  Graetz  107,  as  far  as  to  the  15th  century,  and  Reusch, 
I'Vaidi,  and  D'Envieu,  have  tabulated  all  the  views  of  the 
church  fathers,  the  middle  age,  and  of  modern  times.  Three 
different  hypotheses  exist  as  to  the  scope  of  the  70  weeks,  (i) 
that  they  end  with  the  times  of  Antiochus,  B.  C.  164,  (2)  with 
the  times  of  Titus,  A.  D.  70,  (3)  with  the  Second  Coming  of 
Christ  to  destroy  the  Antichrist.    The  first  is  impossible,  since 


CHAPTER  IX.— THE  SEVENTY  WEEKS.  121 

our  Lord  declares  that  Daniel  predicts  the  Roman  fall  of 
Jerusalem.  The  second  is  deficient  since  our  Lord  declares 
that  the  "abomination"  will  stand  "in  a  holy  place"  in  the 
time  immediately  preceding  His  Second  Advent.  He  thereby 
makes  Dan.  ix:  26,  27,  a  double  prophecy,  looking  first  to  the 
end  of  the  Jewish  age,  A.  D.  70,  and  next  to  the  end  of  the 
Christian  age,  at  the  Advent.  The  third  is,  therefore,  the  only 
correct  one.  The  inverted  Hebrew  text  and  construction  of 
IX :  26,  viz.,  "and  the  city  and  the  sanctuary  shall  destroy  the 
people  of  a  prince,  the  one  that  is  to  come."  an  inversion  in- 
tended to  -connect  as  closely  as  possible  the  future  "prince" 
with  the  subject  of  the  verb  "confirm"  in  the  next  verse,  and 
to  show  that  neither  Antiochus,  Titus,  nor  Christ  can  be  that 
prince,  finding  "his  end"  in  the  military  overflowing,  estab- 
lishes this  beyond  all  doubt.*  The  70th  week  is  the  last  Anti- 
lishes  this  beyond  all  doubt.  The  70th  week  is  the  last  Anti- 
christ's week,  both  by  prophecy  itself  and  our  Lord's  own 

*"  After  the  most  thorough  investigation,  all  modern  scholars  are 
agreed  that  the  suiTix  'o'  in  the  Hebrew  'qetstso,'  Dan.  ix:  26,  is  mas- 
culine and  refers  to  the  'prince  that  shall  come,'  and  who  is  the  sub- 
ject of  the  verb  'confirm,'  and  that  'his  end'  is  the  correct  rendering." 
"It  refers  neither  to  Antiochus,  Christ,  or  Titus."  Fraidi,  Die  Exegese 
dcr  sicbzig  Wochen,  p.  68.  "  The  suffix  and  its  noun  can  only  be  rend- 
ered 'Ins  end,'  viz.,  that  of  the  hostile  prince,  and  at  Jerusalem.  The 
prophecy  here  does  not  refer  to  Antiochus,  nor  Ins  times,  but  to  the 
times  immediately  before  the  second  advent."  Wolf,  Die  siebcig 
Wochen,  p.  50.  "The  suffix  refers  directly  to  its  nearest  antecedent  in 
gender  and  number,  viz.,  the  prince  to  come.  It  does  not  refer  to  the 
people  of  the  prince,  nor  to  the  city,  or  the  sanctuary,  nor  to  Antio- 
chus, Christ,  or  Titus,  but  to  the  last  Antichrist."  Klieforth,  Das  Biich 
Daniels,  p.  36/.  Grandly,  Prof.  Tiefenthal.  of  the  College  of  St.  Anselm, 
Rome,  says,  "Nowhere,  in  the  New  Testament,  does  Christ  confirm 
a  covenant  only  for  a  week.  The  covenant  here  is  that  of  the  Anti- 
christ with  the  Jews.  It  is  the  common  opinion  that  in  Matth.  xxiv: 
15,  and  parallels,  the  Lord  refers  the  'abomination  of  desolation  spok- 
en of  by  Daniel  the  prophet,  solely  to  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem, 
by  Titus.  On  the  contrary,  Daniel  speaks  of  the  'abomination'  in 
Dan.  xi:  31,  and  in  xii:  11,  the  first  of  these  texts  containing  the  type 
of  the  second,  the  time  of  the  second  that  imm.ediately  before  the 
Advent.  The  suffix  and  noun  are  correctly  rendered  'his  end,'  viz., 
that  of  the  prince  that  shall  come."    Daniel  E.vplicatus,  p.  304-5- 


122  DAM  ELS  GREAT  PROI'HECV. 

teaching.  The  use  of  the  definite  article  "the"  in  the  phraso 
"iJic  one  that  is  to  come,"  i.  e.,  after  the  destrucLion  of  the 
city  by  Titus,  points  back  to  the  "  Little  Horn,"  in  ch.  vii.,  as 
to  a  character  already  well-known  to  Daniel,  and  which  was 
the  object  of  his  interest  in  a  previous  vision.  The  translation 
"his  end,"  instead  of  "the  end  thereof,"  and  "unto  the  end, 
war,"  instead  of  "unto  the  end  of  the  war,"  in  ix:  26,  rest  upon  an 
absolutely  correct  text,  and  are  now  conceded  by  all  exegetes. 
The  sudden  spring  from  Jerusalem's  destruction  to  the  time- 
of  the  last  Antichrist,  by  means  of  the  inverted  Hebrew  con- 
struction in  ch.  ix:  26,  is  in  perfect  harmony  with  the  manner 
of  Daniel's  predictions.  The  English  rendering,  "and  for  the 
overspreading  of  abominations  he  shall  make  it  desolate,"  ix: 
27,  must  at  once  be  discarded  and  the  correct  rendering,  "and 
upon  wing  of  abominations  he  shall  come,  a  Desolator,"  put 
in  its  place.  The  idea  that  by  the  word  "wing"  (kenaph)  is 
meant  the  "top  of  the  altar,"  or  "top  or  extremity  of  the  Tem- 
ple," rests  upon  the  false  Septuagint  rendering  of  the  Hebrew 
word  (kenaph)  by  the  word  "temple"  (hieron)  and  must  be 
rejected.  What  the  Hebrew  text  foretells  is  that  "the  prince 
to  come"  shall  invade  the  Holy  Land,  coming  on  the  "wings" 
of  his  army  like  a  vulture  swooping  down  on  his  prey,  himself, 
his  army,  and  its  military  ensigns  an  "abomination,"  xi:  40-45. 
These  corrections  are  vital  to  the  understanding  of  the  text. 
While  it  is  true  that,  for  2,200  years,  none  have  seen  the  gap 
between  the  third  and  fourth  weeks,  yet  nearly  all  the  earlv 
church  fathers  saw  the  gap  between  the  69th  and  70th  weeks. 
Of  tins  the  vast  majority  were  certain,  viz.,  that  the  70th  week 
is  the  last  Antichrist's  week,  at  the  "End"  of  Gentile  times,  and 
that  the  starting-point  of  the  70  weeks  is  either  the  "first  Da- 
rius the  ?\Iede,"  or  "first  Cyrus  as  sole  king  of  Babylon."  So 
Justin,  Irenaeus,Clcmentof  Alexandria, Tertullian,  Euscbius  in 
one  of  his  calculations,Origcn,Hippolytus,  Hilary, later  on  Poly- 
chrcnius,  and  Bruno  of  Asti;  still  later.  Calvin,  Oecolampadius, 
Bullinger,  L'Empereur,  Cocceius.  Bervaldus,  Dathc,  Blayney, 
Uri;  later  still,  Jungman,  Koch,  J.  1).  Michaelis,  Pringle, 
Haucnkamp,    Veltliuscn;     yet    later,    Klicfoth,    Kcil,    Koch, 


CHAPTER  IX.— THE  SEFEXTV  WEEKS.  123 

Cliristiani,  Fraidi,  D'Envien,  TiefeiUhal,  Dornstetter,  Diistcr- 
wald  and  many  others,  Eriggs  holding  also  to  the  Cyrus  date. 
Farrar's  distortions  of  the  evidence,  and  his  special  pleading, 
only  repeat,  second-hand,  the  efforts  of  the  Higher  Criticism 
to  limit  the  prophecy  to  the  times  of  Antiochiis.  It  was  not 
till  the  fourth  century  that  the  Artaxerxes  date,  invented  pre- 
viously by  Africanus,  was  fastened  upon  the  church,  viz.,  20th 
Artaxerxes  as  the  beginning  of  the  70  weeks,  and  a  "lunar" 
reckoning  adopted,  supported  by  the  mistranslation  of  the 
word  "decreed,"  "determined,"  in  ch.  ix:  24,  as  if  it  meant 
"abbreviated,"  a  retrogade  mode  of  reckoning  from  the  cruci- 
fixion of  Christ,  working  backward  on  the  theory  that  the 
"middle  of  the  70th  week"  means  the  death  of  Christ!!  It  was 
meant  also  to  close  the  Gap  between  the  69th  and  the  70th 
weeks,  unmindful  of  the  fact  that  our  Lord  had  opened  it  out 
so  luminously  in  Luke  xxi:  24,  when  interpreting  the  words, 
"and  unto  the  end,  war,"  in  Dan.  ix:  26  (R.  V.),  and  thus  to 
smite  "Chiliasm"  by  removing  from  the  Church  the  idea  of  a 
Great  Tribulation  at  the  end  of  the  Gentile  Times,  followed 
by  Israel's  restoration  in  the  kingdom  of  God  "underneath  all 
heavens"  at  the  second  coming  of  Christ.  The  idea  that  time, 
history  and  the  planet  ended  with  the  advent,  and  that  the 
promises  of  God  related  to  nothing  earthly,  began  to  prevail. 
A  crass  Chiliasm,  held  by  some  Judaizing  sects,  abusing  the 
true  doctrine,  assisted  the  anti-ciiiliastic  movement.  The  spir- 
itualizing method  of  interpreting  Old  Testament  prophecy, 
applying  all  the  "curses"  to  the  Jew,  and  all  the  "blessings"  to 
the  Church,  came  into  vogue.  A  Pjpe  of  Rome  headed  the 
movement — Pope  Damasus.  The  subject  and  the  contents  of 
the  prophecy  were  changed  to  mean  the  "Church,"  whenever 
Israel,  Zion,  Jerusalem,  Jacob,  the  land,  were  spoken  of  as 
destined  to  latter-day  glory,  and  God's  covenant  with  the  lit- 
eral believing  seed  of  Abraham,  and  Israel's  whole  future, 
were  wiped  out  from  the  faith  of  the  Church.  Such  was  the 
orir,in  of  Post-^Iillennialism — a  fact  which  nearly  every  mod- 
ern Church  historian,  outside  of  Rome,  has  emphasized.  It 
placed  the  70th  week  at  the  beginning,  instead  of  at  the  end  of 


124 


DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 


our  age.  It  was  part  of  that  tremendous  revolution  m  the  in- 
terpretation of  prophecy,  during  the  fourth  cencury.  when  the 
Church  emerged  from  the  martyr-flame,  and,  united  to  the 
State,  prosperous  in  temporal  affairs,  began  to  dance  around 
the  tranquility  of  the  empire,  supported  by  the  State,  and  turned 
to  politics  and  ethics,  philosophy  and  science,  and  the  reform 
of  the  world.  It  bred  the  fearful  condition  of  affairs  that  gave 
to  Mohammed  his  opportunity,  to  the  popes  of  the  Aliddle 
Age  their  pretentions  and  career.  So  much,  in  brief,  for  the 
Artaxerxes  date  and  its  environment.  It  involved  the  Church 
for  fifteen  centuries  in  hopeless  confusion.* 

If  ever  any  people  on  earth  kept  time,  they  were  the  Jews. 
From  Daniel's  death  to  Maccabean  times  there  was  no  possi- 
bility of  ignorance  as  to  the  number  of  years  elapsing.  The 
date  of  the  completion  of  the  second  temple  was  imperishable. 
Tlie  long-aged  High-Priests  made  daily,  monthly,  and  annual 
observations,  and  registered  the  years,  as  pait  of  their  official 
duty.  Still  more,  the  Seleucid  Era,  B.  C.  312,  they  knew  oc- 
curred in  the  25th  of  the  70  weeks  of  Daniel,  reckoned  from 
the  Edict  of  Cyrus,  B.  C.  536.  That  Era  was  accepted  by  them. 
It  is  the  only  Era  from  which  the  reckonings  are  made  in  the 

*The  following  speaks  for  itself  as  a  speciman  of  American  imita- 
tion of  the  foreign  Higher  Criticism  "  There  is  one  particular  term 
of  Seventy  Weeks  at  the  end  of  which  something  is  to  happen;  and  it  is 
explained  that  these  are  weeks  of  years.  *  *  *  There  is  nothing  in  the 
world  to  hinder  anybody  from  putting  the  terminus  a  quo  at  the  time 
of  the  Battle  of  Waterloo,  or  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims,  and  then 
looking  for  something  very  important  to  happen  at  the  end,  four  hundred 
and  ninety  years  from  this  time.  And  Farrar  —  always  Farrar  —  is 
quoted,  saying  in  his  way,  that  the  Christian  Fathers  leave  us  "  Wel- 
tering in  a  chaos  of  uncertainties  and  contradictions."  Washington 
Gladden,  Puzzling  Bible  Books,  pp.  1^8,  I7g.  The  "  weltering"  of  the 
Critics  in  their  own  "chaos"  as  to  this  and  other  "particular  terms," — 
the  "2,300  evening  morning,"  the  "1.290  and  1.335  days," — besides 
the  "  Chaos"  of  the  Seleucids  and  Ptolemies,  the  Second  and  Fourth 
Empires,  the  Date  of  the  Book,  and  in  fact  the  whole  Book,  is,  of 
course  unintentionally,  omitted!  Even  Hitzig  could  call  the  Higher 
Criticism  "An  abomination  of  desolation,  standing  in  a  holy  place,  the 
Scriptures!" 


CHAPTER  IX.— THE  SEVENTY  WEEKS.  125 

Maccabean  books.  Still  more,  the  assassination  of  the  High 
Priest,  Onias  III.,  impressed  the  whole  nation  profoundly,  and 
its  date  was  never  forgotten,  B.  C.  170.  It  was  in  the  45th  of 
the  70  weeks.  The  continuity  of  the  priesthood  was  unbroken, 
and  its  official  relation  to  the  calendar  and  to  histor>'  made  its 
entries  authoritative  and  conclusive.  The  chain  of  tradition 
was  complete.  Nehemiah,  when  young,  knew  Daniel,  and 
lived  to  a  "high  old  age."  The  high  priest  Alexander,  when 
young,  knew  Nehemiah,  and  also  lived  to  be  "very  old."  Sim- 
eon, who  held  the  infant  Jesus,  had  known  many  men  whose 
fathers  had  seen  Judas  Maccabaeus.  The  same  was  true  of 
Zacharias  to  whom  Gabriel  came.  It  was  also  true  of  the 
teachers  of  Gamaliel,  the  teacher  of  Paul.  All  knew,  perfectly, 
that  the  69th  week  did  not  end  in  the  times  of  Antiochus,  much 
less  the  70th.  None  of  the  blessings  in  Dan.  ix:  24,  had  been 
reahzed.  Messiah  Himself  had  not  come;  how  could  they  be? 
They  knew  perfectly  that  the  awful  vision  concerning  Anti- 
ochus, in  Dan.  viii:  9-14,  and  xi:  21-35,  ^^^d  been  fulfilled,  and 
as  certainly  they  knew  that  the  prophecy  in  ix:  26,  27,  had  not 
been  fulfilled.  They  knew  that  no  such  campaign  as  that  de- 
scribed in  Dan.  xi:  40-45,  ever  occurred  in  their  history.  When 
Caesar  was  assassinated,  in  B.  C.  44,  they  knew  it  was  in  the 
62d  of  the  70  weeks,  reckoning  from  B.  C.  536.  \Mien  Au- 
gustus was  made  emperor,  they  knew  it  was  in  the  66th  week, 
B.  C.  28,  and  but  three  more  weeks  had  to  run  "unto  Messiah 
the  Prince."  Carnal  Judaism  was  in  revolt  shouting  for  a 
Maccabean  Caesar.  The  few  who  were  godly,  like  a  Simeon  and 
Anna,  waited  in  hope  for  "Israel's  Consolation."  The  counting 
of  the  years  was  daily.  As  the  time  wore  away,  the  excitement 
grew,  and  false  Messiahs  appeared.  The  perverted  reckoning 
in  the  Septuagint,  of  the  70  weeks,  the  Palestinian  Jews  re- 
jected. They  had  common  sense  enough  to  know  that  the 
70th  week  had  no  more  to  do  with  the  2,300  evening-mornings, 
B.  C.  168-165,  than  Julius  Caesar  had  to  do  with  David,  and 
that  the  69th  week  was  even  then  impending. 

That  the  69  weeks  ended  with  the  birth  of  Christ,  is  con- 
firmed by  the  world-wide  expectation  of  J  -is  coming — an  ex- 


126  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

pectation  Held  by  Tews  and  Gentiles  alike  It  pervaded  pagan 
literature  as  well  as  Jewish.  It  found  an  echo  in  the  Sibylline 
books,  and  was  sung-  in  the  "  Secular  Song"  of  Horace,  and 
in  the  4th  Eclogue  of  Virgil — a  Christmas  carol  before  the 
time.  It  was  discussed  in  the  Senate  House  of  Rome  by  Luci- 
us Cotta  and  the  friends  of  Caesar,  insisting  that  the  "King" 
predicted  m  the^  oracles  was  Caesar  himself,  and  resisted  by 
Cicero  and  Brutus  to  the  last  extremity.  By  order  of  the 
Senate,  the  Sibyl  was  remanded  to  her  chest,  under  lock  and 
key,  the  question  left  undecided,  till  the  Star  shone  over  Beth- 
lehem. On  no  other  ground  can  this  universal  expectation 
be  accounted  for.  Only  the  knowledge  of  Daniel's  predictions 
by  the  Magi,  at  the  head  of  whose  order  Daniel  stood  for  70 
years,  and  the  currency  of  Balaam's  prophecy  among  the  Gen- 
tiles, concerning  the  "'  Star  out  of  Jacob,"  brought  tlie  "  Vise 
Men"  from  Babylon  and  Persia,  with  the  question  on  their 
lips,  "  Where  is  He  that  is  born  King  of  the  Jews,  for  we 
in  the  East  have  seen  His  star  and  are  come  to  wor- 
ship Him?"  Matt,  ii:  2.  They  reckoned  well!  Significant 
for  faith  in  prophecy,  is  the  fact  that  the  heathen  were 
the  first  to  bring  to  the  Jews  in  their  capital,  the  an- 
nouncement of  the  birth  of  their  own  Messiah!  It  is 
the  strongest  confirmation  that  B.  C.  536,  is  the  true  starting- 
point  of  the  70  weeks.  Gabriel  moreover,  who  gave  the  proph- 
ecy, had  already  come  to  Zacharias  and  to  Mary,  Luke  i:  11, 
26,  2y.  It  was  the  "fulness  of  tJic  time  when  God  sent  forth 
His  Son,"  Gal.  iv:  4.  The  events  that  follow  the  birth  of 
Christ,  viz.,  (i)  His  Crucifixion,  and  (2)  the  Destruction  of 
Jerusa4em,  Daniel  has  predicted  with  the  same  unerring  clear- 
ness. The  Roman  Times  of  the  Gentiles  succeeding  that  cata- 
strophe, even  "unto  the  end,  war,"  have  been  literally  fulfilled 
as  far  as'to  A.  D.  1898.  What  remains  of  these  times  is  known 
only  to  God.  At  their  close  comes  the  70th  Week,  the  Anti- 
christ, the  Second  Coming  of  Christ,  Israel's  Deliverance,  the 
Resurrection  of  the  holy  dead,  and  then  the  "  Kingdom."  Our 
thesis  is  the  one  thesis  underlying  the  whole  book  of  Daniel 
and  is  invulnerable.     To  know  this  and  see  it,  is  a  blessing. 


CHAPTER  IX.— THE  SErENTV  U'EEKS.  127 

To  teach  and  to  preach  it,  is  to  teach  and  preach  the  Word  of 
God. 

Finally,  the  jurisdiction  of  the  doctrine  of  the  seventy  weeks 
is  absolute  over  both  Testaments,  New  and  Old,  and  deter- 
mines for  us  the  time-point  of  both  Advents  with  unerring 
certainty.  For  this  purpose  it  was  given.  The  angel  reveals 
the  Parousia  in  Humiliation,  Dan.  ix:  26,  the  Parousia  in 
Glory,  Dan.  vii:  13,  and  assigns  to  each  its  own  time-point 
in  the  calendar  of  history.  The  first  occurs  at  the  close  of 
the  69th,  the  second  (after  the  Interval  "unto  the  End") 
at  the  close  of  the  70th  week.  As  to  the  close  of  the  69th  week 
all  the  prophets  looked,  even  though  to  Daniel  it  was  reserved 
to  furnish  chronology,  so  to  the  close  of  the  70th  week  they 
all  looked  from  AJoses  (Deut.  xxxii:  36-43)  to  Alalachi  (iv: 
i-C),  as  did  the  evangelists  and  apostles  from  Matthew  (l\Iatth. 
xxiv:  15-31)  to  John  (Rev.  xix:  11-21J.  Here,  as  everywhere 
in  prophesy,  the  way  of  simplicity  is  the  way  of  truth.  No- 
where in  all  the  Word  of  God  is  there  any  First  Advent  for 
any  purpose,  prior  to  the  close  of  the  69th  week.  Nowhere, 
in  ail  God's  Word,  is  there  any  Second  Advent,  for  any  pur- 
pose, prior  to  the  close  of  the  70th  week.  In  every  representa- 
tion, in  both  Testaments,  the  Parousia  in  Glory  follows  the 
Parousia  of  the  Antichrist,  and  occurs  in  order  to  terminate 
the  Great  Tribulation  (1)  by  the  Resurrection  of  the  holy 
dead  and  Rapture  of  the  Church,  and  (2)  by  the  Destruction 
of  the  Antichrist  and  the  Judgment  of  the  living  nations,  2 
Thess.  i:  6-10.  Clear,  simple,  uniform  and  persistent  is  this 
divine  revelation  of  the  time — a  rock  of  truth  against  which 
all  the  wild  theories  of  men  dash  themselves  into  foam.  By 
no  vain  dream  of  an  imagined  "special  revelation"  to  Paul,  in 
I  Thess.  iv:  14-18;  by  no  perverted  exegesis  of  Alatth.  xxiv: 
29-31,  or  of  I  Thess.  iv:  14-18;  2  Thess.  i:  6-10;  2  Thess.  ii: 
1-8,  or  of  any  other  texts,  can  this  remarkable  decree  of  God 
be  set  aside.  In  the  Old  Testament  this  Parousia  in  Glory,  at 
the  time-point  stated,  as  a  Parousia  to  raise  the  holy  dead, 
destroy  the  Antichrist,  deliver  Israel  and  judge  the  nations, 
is  everywhere  exhibited  as  one  that  is  a  "  Shining,"  an  "  Ap- 


128  DANIEL'S  GREAT  EROPHECY. 

pearing"  of  Jehovah,  for  His  saints,  zc/Z/j  His  saints  the  holy 
angels.  It  is  enough  to  cite  Ps.  1:  i-6;  Isa.  Ixvi:  5;  Dan.  vii:  13; 
xii:  1-3;  Zech.  xiv:  1-6.  In  the  New  Testament  that  great 
and  definite  event  is  exhibited  under  three  different  terms, 
all  of  equivalent  signification,  viz.,  Parousia,  EpipJiaucia,  Apo- 
kalypsis,  i.e.,  "Arrived  Presence,"  "Appearing,"  "  Revelation." 
All  are  one  and  inseparable,  one  conception  in  three  relations 
— the  first  relating  to  Time,  the  second  to  Space,  the  third  to 
Circumstance  or  Condition,  the  close  of  the  70th  week  domin- 
ating all.  The  first  marks  the  timepoint  of  the  personal  arrival 
of  the  Son  of  Man  in  the  clouds  of  heaven,  viz.  at  the  close 
of  the  "  time,  times,  and  dividing  of  a  time."  The  second  de- 
notes the  outbursting  splendor  of  His  presence,  tlie  glory 
radiating  into  space.  The  whole  expresses  the  fact  that  He 
who  so  long  has  been  concealed  is  now  no  longer  so,  but 
openly  revealed.  It  is  the  same  everywhere  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament. The  hope  of  His  "  appearing  "  is  the  one  hope  to 
which  the  faith  of  all  believers  is  directed,  and  not  to  any 
invented  secret  unseen  advent  prior  to  the  close  of  the  Tri- 
bulation. Had  our  Lord  or  His  apostles  taught  otherwise, 
they  had  arrayed  against  themselves  the  whole  body  of  Old 
Testament  prophecy,  put  the  New  Testament  in  opposition, 
and  involved  both  it  and  themselves  in  irreconcilable  contra- 
diction. But  "  the  Scripture  cannot  be  broken."  On  the 
doctrine  of  the  70th  week,  the  Interval  between  the  69th  and 
70th,  and  the  70th  week  itself,  all  the  devices  of  interpretation 
which  torture  the  word  of  God  to  support  a  vain  theory  of 
exemption  of  the  Church  from  the  Tribulation,  are  forever 
shattered.  The  Lord  identifies  His  Second  Coming  for  the 
Resurrection  of  the  holy  dead  and  the  Rapture  of  the  Church, 
Matt,  xxiv:  29-31,  40,  41,  42;  xxv:  i,  with  the  timepoint  at  the 
close  of  the  70th  week  in  Daniel,  for  the  Resurrection  of 
Israel's  holy  dead  and  the  destruction  of  the  Antichrist.  The 
Parousia  in  Dan,  vii:i3;  xii:i-3  is  the  same  Parousia  and  at 
the  same  time-point  as  in  ]Matt.  xxiv:  29-31.  The  resurrec- 
tion of  Israel's  holy  dead  and  our  resurrection,  our  "gather- 
ing together  unto  Christ,"  and  "in  the  air,"  2  Thess.  ii:  i;  i 


CHAPTER  IX.-THE  SEVENTY  WEEKS.  129 

Thess.  iv:  17,  are  coincident.  It  is  one  and  the  same  event. 
"They  without  us  are  not  made  perfect,"  Heb.  xi:  35-40;  x- 
35-37- 

It  is  remarkable  how  plainly  the  70th  week  dominates  the 
structure  of  our  Lord's  Ohvet-Discourse  from  Matt,  xxiv: 
15  to  Alatt.  XXV :  40.  Warning-  against  three  snares,  (i)  that 
His  Advent  might  be  any  moment,  xxiv:  4;  (2)  that  it  might 
be  a  secret  one,  xxiv:  27;  (3)  that  it  might  precede  the  close 
of  the  Tribulation,  xxiv:  29-31,  He  addresses  the  four  apostles 
j\Iark  xiii:  3,  as  representatives  of  "  the  Twelve,"  and  of  the 

whole  Church  as  a  corporate  unit  surviving  till  He  comes 

the  "  Ye  "  and  the   "  You  "  of  the  great  commission— and 
answers  the  questions  as  to  the  "When"  and  the  "What,"  the 
Time  and  the  Sign  of  His  Second  Coming  and  of  the  End 
of  the  Ag-e.        He    first    of    all    describes    the     painful    and 
checquered  "  Times  of  the  Gentiles,"  down  to  the  "  End",  the 
Interval  between  the  69th  and  70th  weeks,  yet  covering-  sil- 
ently the  70th  week  itself,  even  to  the  "  End,"  xxiv:  4-14.''  He 
then  reverts  to  the  middle  of  the  70th  week,  when  the  "Abomi- 
nation "  will  "  stand  in  a  holy  place,"  xxiv:  15,  and  proceeds 
to  describe  the  great  Tribulation,  or  last   1260  days  of  the 
Antichrist,  xxv:  15-29.    At  the  close  comes  His  Parousia  for 
His  saints,  precisely  as  Daniel  had  pictured  it,  Dan.  vii:  13, 
25-27;   xii:    1-3.     He  calls   it  the   "thief -time,"   xxiv:  44,   as 
John  also  docs,  placing  the   "thief-time"  after  the  6th  Vial, 
Rev.  xvi:  15,  which  with  the  7th  closes  the  Tribulation  at  the 
last  loud  sound  of  the  7th  Trumpet,  Rev.  xi:  15-18.    He  makes 
the  Resurrection  and  the  Rapture  the  first  acts  at  His  com- 
ing,   the   gathering   of    Plis    elect   by    His    angelic    ministry. 
xxiv:  30,  31,  40,  41,  44;   xxv:  i.     He  next  pictures  the  judg- 
ment of  the  living  nations,  xxv:  31-46,  gathered,  as  they  will 
be,  zi  Jerusalem,  in  their  last  conflict  with  Israel,  His  throne 
of  glory  overhanging  Olivet  in  front  of  the  city,  the  nations 
separated  right  and  left,   converted   Israel   holding  the   city 
delivered  by  His  hand.   In  that  Judgment  the  Antichrist  is  de- 
stroyed. He  points  to  New-Born  Israel,  the  nearest  His  throne, 
and  calls  them  "these  my  brethren,"  xxv;  40— Daniel's  "people 


I30 


DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 


of  the  saints,"  Dan.  vii:  2y.  He  makes  their  deHverance 
immediately  subsequent  to  the  rapture  of  the  church,  this 
occurring  at  xxiv:  30,  31,  40,  41;  xxv:  I;  that  at  xxv:  40; 
and,  Hke  Daniel,  crowns  the  whole  scene  with  the  destruction 
of  the  wicked,  the  salvation  of  the  righteous,  the  "  Kingdom" 
and  the  "  Life  everlasting,"  Alatth.  xxv:  34,  46;  Dan.  xii:  1-3, 
13.  From,  first  to  last  the  book  of  Daniel  is  his  guide.  He 
simply  puts  together  the  events  in  the  Ends  of  Daniel's  book, 
chapters  ii.,  vii.,  ix.,  xi.,  and  all  of  xii.,  the  events  of  the  70th 
Week,  and  assigning  the  church  to  her  place,  "ye"  and  "you," 
in  the  same  perspective,  adding  parables  and  admonitions, 
concludes  His  answer  to  the  questions  proposed.  He  separates 
Jerusalem's  destruction,  Dan.  ix:  26,  from  His  Parousia,  Dan. 
vii:  13,  by  the  interval  of  the  "Unto  the  End,"  Dan.  ix:  26,  or 
"Times  of  the  Gentiles,"  Luke  xxi:  24.  He  identifies  His 
second  coming  with  the  "  End  of  the  Age,"  the  end  of  Gentile 
times,  the  end  of  the  70th  Week.  In  Heb.  xi:  35,  39,  40,  Paul 
declares  that  Israel's  resurrection  and  ours  occur  at  the  same 
point  of  time,  and  are  one. 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  the  apostles  followed  their  Master's 
teaching,  and  took  His  Olivet  discourse  as  the  text-book  of 
their  eschatology.  It  ruled  the  whole  faith  of  the  early  church. 
It  settled  every  heresy  as  to  the  time  of  the  advent.  It  cor- 
rected the  Thessalonian  error  as  to  the  "any  moment  view." 
Paul  appeals  to  it  to  decide  the  question.  He  calls  it  the 
"Word  of  the  Lord."  He  had  it  on  his  table  when  he  wrote 
both  letters  to  the  Thessalonians.  He  uses  its  very  language. 
The  70th  Week  covers  his  own  words  in  2  Thess.  ii:  1-8. 
John  reproduces  it  in  full,  in  its  two  halves  of  twice  1,260, 
and  gives  its  middle  point  as  that  of  the  slaughter  of  the  "  Two 
Witnesses"  in  Jerusalem,  by  the  Antichrist,  during  the  time  of 
the  building  of  their  temple  in  unbelief.  Rev.  xi:  2,  3,  7.  See 
Isa.  Ixvi:  1-6.  He  repeats  the  last  1,260  days  again,  in  Rev. 
xii:  6,  14;  xiii:  5;  and  gives  their  end-point  in  xi:  15-19;  xiv: 
13-20;  xix:  1 1 -2 1.  Every  prophecy  of  the  New  Testament, 
and  every  representation  of  the  time-point  of  the  second  com- 
ing of  Christ  for  His  saints,  is  dominated  and  determined  by 


CHAPTER  IX.— THE  SEVENTY  WEEKS. 


131 


the  jurisdiction  of  the  Interval  and  the  70th  Week.  This  is  ab- 
solutely conclusive  against  all  the  vain  time-reckonings  and 
the  groundless  inventions  of  men  of  modern  times  unskilled 
in  the  "sure  word  of  prophecy." 

The  doctrine  of  the  Seventy  Weeks  provides  for  us  the  only 
data  in  connection  with  the  "signs  of  the  times,"  as  foretold  by 
our  Lord,  for  any  approximate  determination  of  the  nearness 
of  the  advent.  How  much  of  the  interval  between  the  69th  and 
70th  weeks  remains  to  run  is  known  only  to  God.  When  the 
Antichrist  and  the  Jews  are  in  "covenant,"  at  the  beginning 
of  the  70th  week,  and  clearer  still,  when  the  breach  occurs 
between  them  at  the  "middle  of  the  week,"  then  the  determi- 
nation of  the  year,  perhaps  the  month,  but  never  of  the  "day 
or  hour,"  will  be  certain,  i,  e.,  to  all  believers.  To  watch 
always  and  wait  patiently  is  the  believer's  privilege.  Prophetic 
nearness  is  one  thing,  chronological  nearness  another,  and  yet 
faith  and  hope  overleap  all  intervening  events.  The  relatively 
brief  remainder  of  the  interval,  and  the  Antichrist,  are  what 
is  immediately  before  us,  and  with  all  sobriety  we  can  say 
that  it  is  this  that  lends  an  interest,  so  solemn  and  absorbing, 
to  the  attitude  of  the  nations,  the  extensio'n  of  missions,  the 
Jewish  movements,  the  Eastern  Question,  the  crimes  of  Chris- 
tendom, and  the  current  events  in  both  hemispheres  of  the 
world. 


"  Here  we  have  a  true  Apocalypse.  The  Glorious  One  who  sways 
over  the  Hiddekel  is  the  'Alpha  and  Omega'  who  appeared  to  Jolm 
upon  the  island  of  Patmos  in  the  Aegean  sea,  not  far  from  Ephesus, 
and  is  tlie  '  Son  of  Man'  whom  Daniel  had  already  seen  in  the  vision 
of  Chapter  VII.; — there,  in  a  night-dream;  here,  in  open  day; — there, 
in  one  form;  here,  in  another.  He  is  the  same  whose  back  part  Moses 
saw  from  the  cleft  of  Horeb,  and  Isaiah  saw  high  and  lifted  up,  and 
Ezekial  saw  above  the  firmament,  and  whose  fear  fell  upon  them. 
Unable  to  endure  the  sight  orthe  voice,  Gabriel  interooscs  to  strengthen 
and  compose  the  shattered  frame  and  mind  of  the  prophet,  and  restore 
him  to  his  strength." — Fehrmann. 


(132) 


Chapter  \'II. 

DANIEL,     CHAPTERS     X-XII.— VISION     OF     THE 
"TIME  OF  THE  END." 

These  chapters  form  one  continuous  prophecy,  the 
longest  in  the  book,  and  furnish  the  last  and  crowning  proof 
of  the  truth  of  our  thesis,  viz,  that  the  Kingdom  of  Christ  can 
never  come  to  victory  on  this  present  earth  until  His  Second 
Advent  in  the  clouds  of  heaven.  The  time  covered  by  them  is 
the  entire  future,  from  the  date  of  the  vision  to  the  Advent,  i. 
e,,  the  whole  time  of  the  Colossus,  save  the  Head  of  Gold,  and 
of  the  Four  Beasts,  save  the  Lion,  therefore  including  the  time 
of  the  Ram  and  the  Rough  Goat,  the  Four  Horns  pnd  Little 
Horn  of  the  Third  Empire;  also  the  Little  Horn  of  the  Fourth 
Empire,  both  Horns;  in  short,  the  period  of  the  seventy 
weeks  together  with  their  Intervals.  The  Two  Tribulations 
are  here,  that  under  Antiochus,  xi:  28-35,  ^^^  that  under  the 
Last  Antichrist,  xi:  40-45;  xii:  i,  the  great  prophecy  ending 
with  the  final  Deliverance  of  the  Jews,  the  Resurrection  of  the 
holy  dead,  and  the  blessed  time  in  the  victorious  Kingdom  of 
God  on  earth,  xii:  1-13. 

Chapter  x.,  which  gives  us  the  Christophany  and  a  wider 
glimpse  than  before  into  the  unseen  world,  is  the  Prologue,  or 
introduction  to  xi.  and  xii.,  which  contain  the  proper  "  Reve- 
lation "  made  to  the  prophet  concerning  the  "  Time  of  the 
End,"  including  the  near  and  far  horizons  of  the  third  and 
fourth  empires.  The  Epilogue  is  xii:  5-13.  The  theme  of  the 
picphecy  is  the  "Warfare  Great,"  the  Eastern  Question  and 
its  solution.  Each  of  the  chapters,  x.,  xi.,  xii.,  forms  a  general 
separate  section  of  the  whole  prediction,  the  first  verse  of 
xi.  properly  belonging  to  the  close  of  x.      All  tlie  way  from 

(133) 


134 


DAXIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 


x:  4  to  xii:  13,  we  stand  on  the  banks  of  the  Hiddekel, 
see  the  vision,  watch  the  actions  of  the  prophet,  hear  the  Lord, 
the  Angels,  and  Daniel  talk,  and  listen  to  the  revelation  given. 
At  xii:  4,  the  scene  changes,  final  explanations  are  made,  and 
the  prophet  is  dismissed  to  his  rest. 

I,  As  to  the  nature  of  the  Revelation  itself.  The  prophet  says, 
a  "  Thing,"  literally  a  "  Word,"  was  revealed  to  him  by  means 
of  a  "  Vision,"  and  that  the  word  was  true,  and  related  to  great 
and  long-continned  military  struggle.  The  translation  of  the 
clause  in  King  James'  Version,  "  and  the  time  appointed  was 
long,"  is  simply  a  defective  paraphrase  of  the  Hebrew  text. 
The  correct  rendering  is,  "  and  Truth  is  the  Word,  even  War- 
fare Great,"  i.  e.,  the  Revelation  he  records  is  that  of  Israel's 
long  struggle  with  the  World-Power  in  its  successive  empires 
and  kmgdoms,  from  the  third  year  of  Cyrus  down  to  the  final 
deliverance  ot  the  Jews  from  Gentile  hands,  and  the  consum- 
U'ation  of  the  Kingdom  of  Christ  at  His  Second  Coming.  In 
a  somewhat  similar  manner  Virgil  and  Homer  began  their 
great  epics  with  "  Arms  and  the  Man  I  sing,"  and  Thiers  and 
Macauley  their  histories  with  "  I  propose  to  write  "  so  and  so. 
If,  imitating  the  title  to  John's  Apocalypse,  we  might  affix 
one  to  this  section  of  Daniel's  book,  it  would  be  this:  "  The 
Revelation  of  the  Angel  of  Jehovah  which  God  gave  to  Him 
to  show  unto  His  servants  the  things  which  must  come  to  pass 
in  the  latter  days,  concerning  the  destiny  of  Israel  and  the 
^^^orld-Powers;  and  He  told  this  word  by  His  angel  Gabriel, 
whom  He  sent  to  His  servant  Daniel,  commanding  him  to 
shut  up  and  seal  the  book  unto  the  Ti:ne  ^  End.    Blessed 

is  he  who  waits  and  comes  to  the  end  of  the  days." 

II.  As  to  the  Date  of  the  Prophecy.  According  to  Baby- 
lonian reckoning,  the  "  first  year  of  C^^ru:;,  "  was  that  of  the 
overthrow  of  Bab}lon,  B.  C.  538.  For  this  reason,  it  is  said 
that  Daniel  "  continued  to  live  "  in  his  ofificial  activity  under 
the  king  of  Babylon,  i.  e.,  under  all  the  Chaldean  kings,  "  to 
the  first  year  of  Cyrus,"  when  their  empire  expired,  Dan.  i:  2T. 
He  also  "prospered  in  the  reign  of  Darius"  (the  Mede\  vi: 
28,  who  "  received  "  the  kingdom  or  rule  over  Babylon  from 


CHAPTERS  X-A7/.— "  TIME  OF  THE  EXD."  135 

Cyrus  himself,  verse  31,  and  "  was  made  king  "  over  the  Chal- 
deans at  that  time,  B.  C.  538.  Upon  the  death  of  Darius,  B.  C. 
536,  Cyrus  assumed  the  sole  reign  over  Babylon,  issuing  his 
edict  for  the  emancipation  of  the  Jews.  According  to  Jewish 
reckoning,  as  seen  in  11.  Chron.  xxxvi:  22,  Ezra  i:  i,  "  the  first 
year  of  Cyrus  "  was  regarded  as  the  first  of  his  sole  reign,  the 
year  of  Jewish  liberation.  The  "  third  year  of  Cyrus,"  there- 
fore, according  to  this  first  post-exilic  prophecy,  Dan.  x:  i, 
was  B.  C.  534,  or  the  fourth  year  after  Babylon's  fall,  or  two 
years  after  the  Edict  of  Cyrus.  Cyrus  is  called  the  "  King  of 
Persia,"  first,  because  he  was  "  King  of  Persia "  first  of 
all,  and  as  such  conquered  both  Media  and  Babylon; 
and,  second,  because  in  536  Darius,  the  Alede,  hav- 
ing passed  away,  the  Persian  dynasty,  the  higher  of  the  two 
horns  of  the  Aledo-Persian  empire,  was  now  in  the  ascendant. 
Dan.  viii:  3-20.  If,  as  the  best  tradition  reports,  Daniel  was 
seventeen  years  old  when  carried  captive,  B.  C.  606,  his  age 
was  eighty-nine  when  this  last  revelation  was  made,  B.  C.  534. 
III.  As  to  the  Place  and  Time  of  the  Vision.  The  place  was 
by  the  banks  of  the  river  Tigris,  whose  Accadian  name  was 
"  Iddiklat,"  called  biblically  "  Hiddekel,"  the  third  of  the  four 
great  rivers  into  which  the  river  of  Eden  parted,  "  that  which 
goeth  toward  the  east  of  Assyria,"  Gen.  ii:  14.  Daniel's  defi- 
nite statement,  "  I  was  by  the  side  of  the  great  river  Hidde- 
kel," taken  in  connection  with  his  description  of  the  conduct 
of  his  companions,  "  the  men  that  were  with  me,"  makes  it  cer- 
tain that  the  prophet  was  not  visionally  transported  there,  but 
was  bodily  present,  x:  4,  7.  The  Euphrates  and  Tigris,  Nine- 
veh and  Babylon,  were  now  the  possessions  of  Cyrus,  and  Dan- 
iel's official  duties  doubtless  required  his  presence  in  this  part 
of  the  augmented  empire.  The  special  time  of  the  vision  is 
given  as  the  "  four  and  twentieth  day  of  the  first  month."  i.  e., 
the  24th  Abib,  called  Nisan  by  the  piost-exilic  Jews,  our  ^larch- 
April,  the  Passover  month  whose  feast  commemorates  Israel's 
deliverance  out  of  Egypt.  Yet,  further,  the  vision  was  given 
at  the  close  of  "  three  full  weeks  "  of  fasting,  the  fast  com- 
mencing on  the  3d  and  ending  on  the  24th  of  Nisan.     Some 


136  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

deep  sig-nificance  lies  here,  in  the  association  of  this  vision  of 
Israel's  deliverance  from  their  last  oppressor,  with  the  Pass- 
over month  that  commemorates  their  deliverance  from  their 
first  oppressor,  the  Egyptian.  Already,  one  seems  to  hear  the 
"  Song-  of  Moses  and  the  Lamb  "  united.  All  the  more  impres- 
sive is  this  association  since  in  xii:  5,  in  the  Hebrew  text,  "  the 
River  "  is  called  by  the  name  of  the  Nile — "  Yeor  " — one  of 
those  quick-glinting-  intimations  we  often  meet  in  prophecy 
when  least  suspecting  it,  to  tell  us  that,  hereafter,  in  the  End- 
Time  it  will  be  with  Israel  "  as  it  was  in  the  day  that  he  came 
up  out  of  Egypt  "  Isa.  xi:  16,  Rev.  xv:  2-4.  The  Holy  Spirit's 
prophetic  glances,  fore  and  aft,  are  wonderful!* 

IV.  As  to  the  Occasion  of  the  Vision.  It  was  the  sad  intel- 
ligence received  concerning  the  state  of  affairs  at  Jerusalem. 
Babylon  indeed  had  fallen,  and  45,000  exiles  had  returned, 
pursuant  to  the  order  of  Cyrus,  to  build  the  temple  and  the 
city.  The  "  foundations  "  had  indeed  been  laid,  but  the  old 
men  had  "  wept  with  a  loud  voice  "  as  they  contrasted  the  pres- 
ent poverty  of  structure  with  the  grandeur  of  the  ancient  house, 
Ezra  iii:  11,  12.  Worse  than  all,  the  temple-work  had  been 
suspended,  through  the  machinations  and  accusations  of  Sa- 
maritans against  the  Jews,  and  Persian  sympathy  had  been 
withdrawn,  Ezra  iv:  4-16,  23,  24.  Moreover,  a  scheme  was  con- 
trived to  build  a  counter  temple  on  Gerizzim,  in  Samaria.    De- 

*As  the  waters  were  divided,  so  will  it  be  again,  Isa.,  xi:  15;  Rev. 
xvi:  12.  As  the  walls  of  Jericho  fell,  so  shall  it  be  again,  Isa.,  ii:  15; 
Rev.  XV :  19.  As  the  mountains  were  rent  and  skipped,  so  shall  it  be 
again,  Ps.  cxiv:  4,  10;  Rev.  xvi:  19.  As  hailstones  fell  at  Bethoron,  so, 
with  mightier  force  shall  it  be  again.  Rev.  xvi:  21.  As  the  transjordan- 
ic  regions,  Ammon,  Moab,  Edom,  were  held  by  Israel,  so  shall  it  be 
again,  Isa.  xi.  14;  Dan.  xi:  40-45.  As  plagues  of  sores  and  darkness 
and  of  water  turned  to  blood,  marked  the  coming  out  of  Egypt,  so 
shall  Israel's  final  deliverance  be  marked,  Rev.  xvi:  2,  3,  10.  As  the 
dividing  of  the  sea  for  Israel's  escape,  so  for  the  same  purpose  the 
Mount  of  Olives  shall  be  divided;  and  as  Sun  and  Moon  stood  still 
during  Joshua's  long  day.  so  Zechariah's  nocturnal  day  and  solar 
night,  a  day  unique,  "not  day,  nor  night,"  points  to  yet  corresponding 
phenomena.  "  It  shall  be  as  it  was,"  in  multiplied  ways.  Zech.  xiv:  4 
6.  7. 


CHAPTERS  X-XII.-"  TIME  OF  THE  END."  137 

jected  in  sorrow,  the  prophet  gives  himself  to  "  mourning, 
fasting  and  prayer  for  three  full  weeks,"  even  in  joyous  pass- 
over-tinie,  during  which  he  "  ate  no  pleasant  bread,  neither 
came  flesh  nor  wine  into  his  mouth,  nor  did  he  anoint  him- 
self," x:  3,  At  the  close  of  this  period,  the  venerable  saint, 
burdened  with  the  weight  of  years,  and  enfeebled  by  this  long 
fast,  received  the  Vision  and  the  Revelation,  24th  Nisan,  B.  C. 

534- 

V.  The  Vision  itself.  It  is  a  Christophany,  or  appearing  of 
the  Angel  of  Jehovah  in  human  form.  The  prophet  lifts  his 
eyes  and  sees  in  open  day  a  "  Certain  Man  "  of  supernatural 
presence  hovering  over  the  waters  of  the  Hiddekel,  a  man 
wearing  not  the  "  Talar,"  but  the  shining  byssus  garment  of  a 
Jewish  High-Priest,  his  loins  cinctured  with  "  gold  of  Uphaz," 
his  body  in  color  like  a  "  Tarshish,"  or  brill-'ant  Chrysolite 
such  as  sparkled  in  the  pectoral  of  Aaron,  his  face  "  flashing 
like  the  lightning,"  his  eyes  like  "  torches  blazing,"  his  arms 
and  feet  like  "  polished  brass,"  and  his  voice  as  "  the  voice  of 
a  multitude,"  x:  5,  6;  or,  as  the  word  imports,  like  surges 
breaking  on  the  shore,  or  the  noise  of  shouting  armies  in  the 
distance,  or  as  of  deep,  low,  bursting  thunder.  Omnipotence 
and  sublimity  are  here.  It  is  a  vision  of  Jesus  Christ  before 
His  incarnation,  yet  symbolized  in  the  dignity  of  His  royal, 
priestly  and  prophetic  offices,  in  the  terror  of  His  judicial  maj- 
esty, the  forecast  splendor  of  His  exalted  humanity,  and  the 
glory  of  His  deity;  a  "  Man,"  both  ]\Ian  and  God,  incompara- 
ble in  the  mystery  of  His  person  and  His  natures — a  face  above 
the  brightness  of  the  sun,  a  voice  vocal  as  the  thunder.  His 
transparent  body  means  His  sanctity  and  glory.  His  white 
robe  means  that  He  is  a  priest.  His  golden  girdle  that  He  is  a 
King,  His  uttering  voice  that  He  is  a  prophet.  His  eyes  like 
searching  fire  mean  omniscience.  His  arms  and  feet,  like 
burning  brass,  mean  judgment  for  His  enemies.  His  face  ef- 
fulgent means  that  God  is  there!  Elsewhere  in  the  book  of 
Daniel  this  same  glorious  person,  who  is  the  central  figure  of 
it  all,  is  presented  as  the  "  Stone  "  detached  from  the  moun- 
tain, ii:  34,  45;  "  One  like  a  Son  of  God,"  iii:  25;  a  "  Watcher 


138  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY 

and  Holy  One,"  who  cares  for  Israel,  iv:  13;  "  One  like  a  Son 
of  Man,"  coming  in  the  clouds,  vii:  13;  a  "  Certain  Holy  One, 
Palmoni,  Wonderful  Numberer,"  whose  voice  Daniel  heard 
coming  from  between  the  banks  of  the  Ulai,  viii:  15,  16;  "[Mes- 
siah "  born  and  crucified,  ix:  26,  and  now  the  "  Linen  Clothed 
Man  "  hovering  sublime  above  the  Hiddekel.  In  all  these 
forms  and  relations  He  appears  as  the  Crusher  of  the  Colossus 
of  earthly  politics  and  power,  the  Companion  of  His  suffering 
saints  in  the  furnace  and  the  den,  the  Judge  of  all  the  earth, 
the  Measurer  of  the  Ages  and  the  Ends,  the  Seasons  and  the 
Times,  the  Revealer  of  the  truth  and  Unveiler  of  Israel's  path- 
way and  goal,  the  atoning  Redeemer  of  His  people,  the  De- 
stroyer of  the  Antichrist,  the  Deliverer  of  the  Jews,  the  im- 
mortal Monarch  of  the  Fifth  Empire,  and  Bringer  of  the  King- 
dom of  God  to  victory  over  all  the  earth.  Here,  in  the  present 
vision,  x:  5,  6,  He  appears  in  His  greatest  splendor  and  is  that 
Glorious  One  John  saw  "  in  the  isle  that  is  called  Patmos,"  630 
years  later;  the  Walker  in  the  midst  of  the  golden  candlesticks, 
the  Lamb  on  the  Throne,  the  many-crowned  Warrior  on  the 
white  horse,  and,  as  in  Moses  and  John,  so  here,  the  Oath- 
Swearing  Angel  with  uplifted  hand  to  heaven,  Deut.  xxxii:  40; 
Rev.  x:  5,  6;  Dan.  xii:  7.  He  is  the  "  Angel  of  the  Covenant," 
Israel's  "  Savior  "  and  "  Hope  in  time  of  trouble,"  He  ate  in 
Abraham's  tent,  saved  Isaac  from  the  altar,  was  the  Mystic 
Ladder  Jacob  saw.  He  spoke  to  Moses  at  the  Bush,  and  from 
the  Pillar  of  Cloud  by  day  and  Fire  by  night.  Ezekiel,  Dan- 
iel's contemporary,  calls  Him  the  "  Glory  of  the  Lord,"  Ezek. 
i:  26-28,  and  saw  Him  lingering,  then  departing  from  Jeru- 
salem, yet  returning  to  the  eastern  gate.  Zechariah,  alluding 
to  the  very  time  the  present  vision  closes,  says  of  Him,  "  The 
Lord  my  God  shall  come,  all  the  holy  ones  with  Thee!  and  His 
feet  shall  stand,  in  that  day,  on  the  Mount  of  Olives,"  Zech. 
xiv:  1-5. 

\'T.  The  Persons  in  the  Scene.  They  are  (i)  the  Linen- 
Clothed  Man,  (2)  Daniel  and  his  companions,  (3)  Gabriel,  (4) 
IMichael,  and  (5)  "  Two  Others,"  referred  to  in  chap,  xii:  5,  6. 
Whether  the  companions  of  Daniel  were  Zechariah,  Haggai 


CHAPTERS  X-XII.—"  TIME  OF  THE  END." 


139 


and  Malachi,  or  Shadrach,  Meshach  and  Abednego,  or  some 
servants  of  the  prophet,  is  indeterminable.  Conjectural  is 
every  view  as  to  who  the  "  Two  Others  "  are.  Michael  is  ex- 
pressly named,  x:  13,  21.  Gabriel  is  not  named,  but  the  char- 
acteristic mode  of  addressing  the  prophet  as  a  "  man  greatly 
beloved,"  and  of  "  touching  "  him  to  strengthen  him,  and  the 
fact  that  he  who  addresses  and  touches  is  the  revealing  angel, 
leaves  no  doubt  that  the  "  hand  "  in  contact  with  the  pros- 
trate prophet,  x:  10,  16,  18,  is  not  that  of  the  Linen-Clothed 
Man,  x:  5,  6,  but  is  the  "  hand  "  of  Gabriel.  Compare  chapter 
x:  21-23,  ^^'i'^^'^  viii:  15,  16.  There  is  nothing  in  the  expression, 
"  one  like  the  similitude  of  the  sons  of  Adam  touched  my  lips," 
x:  16,  to  indicate  otherwise.  The  expression  is  not  the  same  as 
that  in  chapter  vii:  13,  "  One  like  a  Son  of  Enash,"  coming  in 
the  clouds  of  heaven.  The  action  and  speech  of  the  angel  in 
chapters  viii.  and  ix.,  and  here  in  chapter  x.,  in  connection  with 
all  these  prophecies,  prove  that  Gabriel  is  the  Toucher,  the 
Speaker  and  the  Revealing  Angel,  all  the  way  from  Dan.  x:  10 
to  xii:  4,  and — save  chapter  xii:  7,  where  the  Linen-Clothed 
Man  answers  a  question — is  the  Speaker  and  Revealer  of  the 
whole  prophecy.  The  prophet  does  not  say  that  the  Linen- 
Clothed  Man  laid  "  His  hand  "  upon  him,  as  John  says  of 
Christ  in  Rev.  i:  17,  but  simply  "a  hand"  touched  me,  Dan. 
x:  10,  viz.,  the  hand  of  Gabriel. 

Vn.  The  Effect  of  the  Vision  on  the  Prophet  and  his  Com- 
panions and  the  Circumstances  of  his  Recovery,  (i)  On  his 
companions.  Like  those  of  Saul,  when  the  Lord  appeared  to 
him  on  the  way  to  Damascus,  they  "  saw  not  the  vision  of  the 
man."  They  heard  "  a  voice,"  but  not  articulate.  To  both,  a 
flash  and  a  sound  were  the  whole  phenomena.  To  those  who 
have  no  eyes  to  see,  the  glory  of  God  is  but  as  natural  light- 
ning. To  those  who  have  no  ears  to  hear,  the  voice  of  Christ  is 
only  as  rolling  thunder.  Unbelieving  science  neither  sees  nor 
hears  anything  supernatural.  Unlike  Saul's  companions,  who 
"fell  to  the  ground,"  Daniel's  ran  away  "quaking,"'  and  "fied  af- 
frighted to  hide  themselves,"  x:  7,  Acts  ix:  7,  xxii:  9,  xxvi:  14. 
(2)  On  the  prophet  himself,  left  "  alone,"  the  effect  was  utter 


140 


DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 


physical  and  mental  prostration.  The  supernatural  shock  sus- 
pended all  normal  functional  activities  of  mind  and  body,  de- 
stroying not  only  the  power  of  locomotion,  but  of  erect  posi- 
tion, producing  nervous  and  muscular  paralysis  and  semi-con- 
sciousness and  threatening  dissolution.  At  the  age  of  eighty- 
nine  years,  and  after  three  weeks'  fast,  it  seemed  to  be  apparent 
death.  So  John,  of  nearly  the  same  age,  when  narrating  tlie 
effect  of  the  Christophany  in  Patmos,  says,  "  When  I  saw  Him 
I  fell  at  His  feet  as  dead!"  Rev.  i:  17.  Into  the  mystery  of  the 
necessity  of  such  phenomena,  when  protracted,  minute,  and 
mighty  revelations  are  about  to  be  given,  we  may  not  pry. 
Doubtless  the  purpose  was  to  strip  the  prophet  of  all  human 
strength  and  cause  him,  in  the  strength  of  God  alone,  to  re- 
ceive and  record  the  great  communication. 

He  describes  his  condition.  Pathetically  he  narrates  that 
his  "  strength  "  had  departed,  his  "  comeliness  "  been  turned 
to  "  corruption,"  and  that,  as  soon  as  he  heard  the  "  voice  of 
the  words  "  of  the  Linen-Clothed  Alan  he  was  thrown  into  a 
"  deep  sleep,"  prostrate,  his  "  face  toward  the  ground  "  x:  8,9. 
Haggard,  withered,  disfigured,  the  freshness  of  his  counte- 
nance gone,  stupefied,  overpowered  by  the  Divine  presence, 

ihe  fell  comatose  and  heavy  to  the  earth.  The  awful  splendor 
and  voice  of  Jehovah  had  shattered  him.  Once  before,  under  a 
vision  less  powerful,  he  says  he  was  "astounded,"  "fainted,"  and 
was  "sick  for  many  days,"  viii:  27.     Nevertheless,  the  power 

'I that  prostrated  him  re-invigorated  and  recovered  him.  The 
mysterious  Form  that  hovered  over  the  Hiddekel  withheld 
himself  now  from  the  eyes  and  ears  of  the  prophet  unable  to 
endure  more,  and  sent  an  angel  to  succor  and  support  him. 
Thrice  the  prophet  is  "  touched  "  and  addressed  by  Gabriel 
x:  10-20.  At  the  first  touch,  x:  10,  he  is  raised  from  the 
ground,  resting  on  his  "  knees  "  and  the  "  palms  of  his  hands." 
Like  a  quadruped,  he  stands  on  all  fours.  His  crouching  po- 
sition is  that  of  one  endeavoring  to  rise  but  too  feeble  to  suc- 
ceed. The  angel  comforts  and  instructs  him,  "  O,  Daniel, 
man  greatly  beloved!"  tells  him  he  has  a  message  for  him,  de- 
sires him  to  understand  it  and  bids  him  "  stand  upright." 


CHAPTERS  X-XII.-'  TIME  OF  THE  END."  141 

Weak,  yet  obedient,  the  prophet  rises.  "  When  he  had  spoken 
this  word  to  me,  I  stood,  trembling"  x:  ii.  The  angel  as- 
sures him  that,  from  the  first  day  he  had  "  set  his  heart  to  un- 
derstand and  chastened  himself  before  God,"  his  prayer  had 
been  heard,  and  that  now,  in  answer  to  prayer  for  his  sake, 
he,  Gabriel,  had  come  to  him,  x:  12.  He  explains  the  delay 
and  gives  the  prophet  a  glimpse  into  the  conflicts  of  the  un- 
seen world,  showing  what  interest  the  angels,  good  and  evil, 
take  in  the  affairs  of  human  governments.  He  says  that  for 
twenty-one  days  following  the  beginning  of  Daniel's  prayer, 
he  had  stood  at  his  post  counteracting  the  influence  of  the  evil 
angel-prince  of  Persia,  who  was  responsible  for  all  the  mischief 
and  machinations  at  Jerusalem,  and  for  the  cunning  schemes 
to  change  the  Persian  policy  adversely  to  the  Jews;  that 
Michael,  the  guardian  prince  of  Israel  and  commander  of  the 
heavenly  hosts,  had  come  to  his  help,  that  both  had  won  a  vic- 
tory over  the  evil  influence  at  the  Persian  court,  and  that  thus 
relieved  from  his  watch  he,  Gabriel,  had  hastened  as  rapidly  as 
possible  to  cause  the  prophet  to  understand  not  only  this  but 
future  things,  x:  13,  14.  Herein  the  prophet  is  assured,  first 
of  all,  that,  in  spite  of  all  opposition,  the  Temnle  should  be 
built,  although  in  troublous  times,  and,  so  far,  the  prophecy  in 
chapter  ix:  25  be  fulfifled;  that  the  lost  edict  of  Cyrus  would 
yet  be  discovered  and  reenforced  by  a  new  decree  of  Darius, 
the  son  of  Plystaspes,  and  the  court-demon,  whether  at  Bab- 
ylon, Shushan,  or  Achmetha,  be  foiled,  Ezra  v:  13,  i^;  vi:  1-7, 
8-12,  15-22.  Here  was  comfort,  indeed.  But,  as  the  prophecy 
in  both  chapters  viii.  and  ix.  looked  into  future  times  beyond 
the  Persian  rule,  even  into  Greek  and  Roman  times,  and  on  to 
the  end  of  Israel's  long  pathway,  even  to  the  70th  week  in 
chapter  ix,  so  had  he  hurried  specially  to  tell  the  prophet  what 
should  "  befaU  his  people  in  the  latter  days,  x:  14.  He  uses  an 
expression — "  acharith  hoyyanmn,"  "  the  afterness  of  the 
days  " — well  known  to  Daniel,  a  technical  expression  includ- 
ing all  near  and  far  horizons,  but  eminently  the  remote,  Dan. 
viii:  17,  19,  23;  ii:  28.  He  tells  him,  in  sum,  that  the  message 
he  brings  is  no  less  than  a  prophecy  in  detail  of  "  Warfare 


142 


DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 


Great,''  x:  I,  covering  all  Persian,  Greek  and  Roman  times, 
reaching  to  the  last  crisis  and  the  last  deliverance. 

This  solemn  word  is  too  much  for  the  trembling  prophet  to 
endure.  If  indeed  he  had  been  comforted  and  strengthened 
somewhat  by  the  angel's  word  and  touch,  yet  deeply  affected 
by  what  he  now  heard,  he  seems  to  relapse.  The  thought  of 
further  tribulation  for  his  people  overcomes  him.  He  becomes 
dejected  again  and  "  dumb."  "  When  he  (the  angel)  had 
spoken  such  words  to  me,  I  set  my  face  to  the  ground,  and  I 
became  dumb,"  x:  15.  A  second  time  the  angel  commiserates 
his  frailty  and  touches  his  "  lips,"  signifying  that  he  wishes 
him  to  speak.  The  prophet  opens  his  mouth  and  pleads  in 
plaintive  tones  his  incapacity,  "  O,  my  Lord,  by  reason  of  the 
vision  my  pains  came  upon  me,  and  I  retained  no  strength. 
For  how  can  the  servant  of  this  my  Lord  talk  with  this  my 
Lord,  for,  as  for  me,  no  strength  has  remained  in  me,  no  breath 
left  in  me,"  x:  16,  17.  Stricken  prophet!  Old  man,  weak  from 
years  and  from  fasting,  overpowered  by  the  sight  above  the 
liiddekel,  and  now  weighted  afresh  with  the  burden  of  Israel's 
future  woes,  how  could  he  "  talk  "  ?  A  bruised  reed  and  smok- 
ing flax,  trembling,  flickering,  bent,  breathless  and  powerless, 
how  demean  himself  otherwise  than  in  silence,  as  befits  the  sor- 
rowing, or  how  charm  into  cheerfulness  the  countenance  made 
sad,  or  into  utterance  the  chords  made  mute,  by  the  vision  and 
the  voice?  "  I  was  dumb,  I  opened  not  my  mouth,  because 
thou  didst  it!"  A  third  time  the  angel  touches  him  and  ad- 
dresses him.  "O  man,  greatly  beloved!  Courage!  Peace  be 
unto  thee!  Be  strong  and  be  strong!"  Behold  how  angels  sa- 
lute the  sufi'ering  saints  of  God! — "Ish  hemdoth!  Tiryeh  lo! 
Shalom  leka!  Hazak  ve-hazak!" — words  powerful  enough  to 
comfort  the  saddest,  encourage  the  faintest  and  doubly  con- 
firm and  strengthen  the  weakest.  Almighty  energy  revived 
his  almost  exanimated  frame,  sent  new  pulses  through  his 
blood  and  stiffened  into  strength  his  palsied  limbs.  The  color 
returns  to  his  face.  "  Be  strong  and  be  strong!"  Courageously 
he  "  talks."  He  is  ready  now  to  receive  the  Revelation  of  the 
"  Tsaba  Gadol  " — the  "  Warfare  Great."  "  Let  my  Lord  speak, 


CHAPTERS  X-XIL-"  TIME  OF  THE  END."  143 

for  thou  hast  strengthened  me,"  x:  19.  And  yet  the  angel 
would  be  certain  that  the  mind  of  Daniel  is  clear  and  his  mem- 
ory still  faithful  to  its  function.  "  Knowest  thou  wherefore  I 
am  come  to  thee  ?"  x:  20.  Remembcrest  thou  the  words  I 
spake  before  the  second  touch?  my  mission?  the  object  ot  my 
coming?  the  victory  won  over  the  evil  angel-prince  of  Fersia? 
x:  14.  Satisfied  that  Daniel's  mind  is  clear,  the  angel  resumes 
his  exordium,  broken  off  by  Daniel's  weakness,  and  meant  as 
a  preliminary  word  to  his  revelation  of  the  "  Warfare  Great." 
Doing  so,  he  continues  to  comfort  and  strengthen  the  prophet 
by  making  known  two  things,  viz: 

(i)  That,  as  in  the  past,  so  in  the  future,  Daniel's 
people  are  under  the  special  guardianship  of  the  an- 
gels of  God.  In  the  midst  of  their  trials,  angelic 
power  shall  defend  the  faithful.  For  this  reason,  Gabriel  in- 
forms liim  that  he  must  "  return  "  to  the  Persian  court  to  main- 
tain the  advantage  already  gained,  x:  13,  and  continue  to 
"fight  with  the  angel-prince  of  Persia,"  x:  20,  during  the 
whole  period  of  the  Persian  supremacy,  and  so  incline  the 
kings  of  Persia  to  favor  Israel — a  fact  made  evident  in  all  the 
Persian  history  and  particularly  so  in  the  times  of  Esther.  He 
adds,  however,  that  there  will  be  a  time  when,  after  he  is  gone 
away  and  is  at  his  post  of  watchfulness,  another  enemy,  the 
evil  "  angel-prince  of  Grecia  shall  come,"  x:  20.  The  Persian 
supremacy  will  pass  away,  the  Jews  shall  fall  under  Greek  do- 
minion and  again  experience  tribulation.  Nevertheless,  the 
angel  will  stay  long  enough  to  "  show,"  i.  e.,  explain,  to  the 
prophet  "  what  is  noted  in  the  Scripture  of  Truth  "  concern- 
ing not  only  the  times  of  Persia  and  Greece,  but  the  end  of 
Roman  times  also,  even  the  end  of  the  "  Warfare  Great."  He 
further  adds  that,  although  the  sufferings  of  the  Jews  will  be 
severe,  yet  the  outcome  will  be  victory  for  the  people  of  God. 
All  the  more  evident  is  this  since  but  twenty-one  days  ago,  he, 
Gabriel,  stood  up  against  the  evil  angel-prince  of  Persia  and 
foiled  the  intrigues  at  the  Persian  court,  x:  13;  Michael,  his 
only  help,  and  "none  but  Michael,"  the  archangel  and  guardian 
prince  of  Israel,  was  needed  then  or  would  be  needed  hereaf- 


144 


DANIELS  GREAT  PROPHECY. 


ter,  to  "  exert  himself  against  these,"  i.  e.,  the  powers  of  Persia 
and  Greece,  or  against  the  "  Powers  "  in  the  closing  struggle 
of  the  "Warfare  Great,"  x:  21.  No  human  allies  will  be 
needed  even  in  Israel's  last  extremity.  Still  further,  the  angel 
reminds  the  prophet  that,  in  a  great  crisis  only  four  years  ago, 
he,  Gabriel,  Michael  assisting,  x:  13,  "  stood  up  in  the  first  year 
of  Darius,  the  Alede,  to  strengthen  and  confirm  "  that  weak- 
minded  vacillating  monarch,  Dan.  vi:  4-27,  against  the  mach- 
inations of  the  satraps,  stopped  the  mouths  of  the  lions  in  tlie 
den  where  Daniel  was  thrown,  delivered  Daniel  and  caused  his 
promotion  under  the  Persian  empire;  in  fact,  that  two  angels  of 
God,  Gabriel  and  Michael,  had  been  all-sufficient  to  sway 
the  minds  of  both  Cyrus  and  Darius  to  execute  God's  judg- 
ment on  Babylon  and  defend  triumphantly  the  interests  of  Is- 
rael. The  inference  is  irresistible  that,  in  coming  days  under 
the  Greek  tribulation,  and  in  the  "  Great  Tribulation  "  that  will 
close  the  Gentile  times,  xiii:  i;  Rev.  xii:  7;  Zech.  xii:  8,  Israel 
will  not  be  overwhelmed  by  the  "  Powers,"  nor  forsaken  by  a 
covenant-keeping  God.  Jacob's  hope  will  not  be  in  human 
allies,  always  a  curse  to  him,  but  in  the  "  Lord  of  Hosts  "  alone. 
Hereby  he  recalls  to  the  prophet  the  memories  of  the  Hebrew 
history.  What  allies,  in  any  crisis,  ever  saved  Israel  from  their 
enemies?  What  victories  did  Israel  ever  win  by  foreign  aid? 
What  battle  ever  lost  when  Gabriel  and  Michael  "  stood  up  " 
in  Israel's  behalf?  One  angel,  alone,  smote  the  firstborn  of 
Egypt;  another  laid  low  in  a  single  night  the  entire  army  of 
Sennacherib.  Was  it  not  enough  that  the  "  Captain  of  the 
Lord's  Host"  appeared  to  Joshua?  What  allies  had  the 
Judges?  The  murmurs  of  the  Red  Sea,  the  tumbling  walls  of 
Jericho,  the  sun  standing  still  over  Gibeon  and  the  moon  in 
the  valley  of  Ajalon,  can  these  be  forgotten?  The  glittering 
hosts  of  Mahanaim,  whose  quivers  are  filled  with  lightninrjs 
and  whose  step  is  in  the  thunderstorm,  are  more  than  a  match 
for  all  the  helmeted  batallions  of  all  the  "  Powers."  "  Cour- 
age, Daniel.  Be  strong  and  be  strong!"  No  fear  for  the  fu- 
ture! Of  Israel  it  is  said,  "  The  Eternal  God  is  thy  Refuge  and 
underneath  are  the  everlasting  arms,  and  He  shall  thrust  out 


CHAPTERS  X-XII.—"  TIME  OF  THE  END."  145 

the  enemy  before  thee  " — Greek,  Cossack,  Turk  or  Persian — 
"and  shall  say,  Destroy  them!  Happy  art  thou,  O  Israel,  O 
people  saved  of  the  Lord  who  is  the  Shield  of  thy  help  and  the 
Sword  of  thine  excellency!"  Deut.  xxxiii:  26-29  Thus  in 
"  words  "  and  in  substance,  not  less  than  by  "  touches,"  does 
the  angel  revive  the  memories  of  the  past,  kindle  the  hopes  of 
the  future  and  reinvigorate  and  comfort  the  mind  of  the 
prophet. 

(2)  The  final  comfort  given  is  the  solemn  Sanction  of  the 
angel,  soul-assuring  and  inviolable,  to  all  the  revelations  Dan- 
iel has  received,  and  to  the  "  Book  "  in  which,  from  the  first, 
he  had  recorded  them.  He  calls  Daniel's  book  the  "  Kitab 
Emcth  "  or  "  Writing  of  Truth,"  i.  e.,  "  True  Scripture,"  and 
not  fiction,  x:  21,  and  in  xii:  4,  calls  it  "Hassepher,"  "The 
Book."  This  "  Writing  of  Truth  "  is  not  any  unwritten  book 
of  God's  decrees,  nor  of  His  providence,  nor  is  it  the  "  book  of 
life,"  nor  of  "  God's  remembrance,"  nor  any  archives  of  angels 
in  heaven,  but  is  the  visible  and  manual  "  Scripture  "  of  the 
revelations  given  and  recorded  by  Daniel  in  human  alphabetic 
characters,  Hebrew  and  Aramaean.  It  was  something  in  Dan- 
iel's possession — a  "  Sepher,"  or  "  Book  "  which,  when  com- 
pleted, was  to  be  placed  among  the  "  Sepharim  "  or  canonical 
"  Books  "  of  the  Jewish  people,  like  the  "  Sepharim  "  or 
"Books"  in  ix:  2,  of  which  "  Hassepher,"  "the  Book"  of 
Moses  was  one,  Exod.  xvii:  14;  Dan.  ix:  11,  13.  Already,  from 
B.  C.  603  to  533,  the  prophet  had  received  various  revelations, 
viz.:  those  in  chapters  ii.,  vii.,  viii.  and  ix.,  and  with  the  histories 
connected  with  them,  i.,  iii.,  iv.,  v.,  vi.,  had  faithfully  recorded 
them  in  "  the  Book,"  xii:  4.  He  "  wrote  "  them,  vii:  i,  at  the 
time  of  their  occurrence,  as  did  other  prophets,  Isa.  vii:  3;  Jer. 
xix:  14;  Hos.  i:  2,  and  "  shut  up  the  vision,"  viii:  26,  and  he 
tells  us,  as  a  prophet,  and  in  view  of  his  account,  that  what  he 
wrote  was  "  Truth,"  not  fiction,  and  "  Truth  "  given  by  an 
angel  from  heaven,  and  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  in  answer  to 
prayer,  ii:  17,  18;  ix:  4;  not  a  human  invention,  or  production 
of  his  own  will,  or  private  interpretation  of  the  mind  of  God; 
nothing  of  a  psychological  genesis,  or  even  of  a  logical  con- 


146  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

elusion  from  any  premises,  nor  a  pious  imagination,  but  an 
"  Apocalypse,"  a  "  Secret  Revealed  "  by  the  "  God  of  Heaven," 
ii:  18,  22,  27,  and  much  of  which  he  could  not  understand, 
viii:  2y.  These  revelations  contain  the  forecast  outline  history 
of  the  World-Power  and  of  the  Jews,  with  a  chronological 
clock  of  the  Ages  down  to  the  Second  Advent  of  Christ — an 
apocalypse  in  which  the  Holy  Land,  the  Holy  City,  and  Israel, 
the  Holy  People,  endure  persistently,  from  first  to  last,  in  spite 
of  all  adverse  fortune,  reserved  for  a  glorious  destiny  in  the 
"  Time  of  the  End." 

And  novv^  the  angel  comes  to  add  one  more  "  Revelation  " 
and  "  Word  of  Truth,"  showing  more  particularly  certain  great 
events  in  Persian,  Greek  and  final  Roman  times,  to  be  added 
to  Daniel's  "  Book,"  so  completing  it,  sealing  it  officially  and 
transmitting  it  to  be  read  and  studied  in  the  "  Time  of  the 
End,"  xii:  4.  This  final  revelation  the  prophet  solemnly  de- 
clares is  "  Truth  "  because  the  angel  so  declared,  x:  1-21.  Ga- 
briel also  calls  Daniel's  whole  "  Book  "  a  "  Kitab  Emeth,"  a 
"  Writing  "  or  "  Scripture  of  Truth."  Thus,  from  chapter  i.  to 
xii.  inclusive,  all  is  "  Truth,"  not  fiction.  By  friend  and  foe 
alike,  the  unity  of  the  book  and  its  authorship  is  conceded. 
Upon  the  supposition  of  the  author's  piety  and  honesty,  his  re- 
peated statements  that  the  predictions  were  a  "  revelation  " 
from  God  at  the  dates  and  places  specified,  and  that  an  angel 
from  heaven  pronounced  the  words  he  brought,  to  be  "Truth," 
and  Daniel's  book  a  book  of  "  Truth,"  its  prophecies  to  be  ful- 
filled only  "  after  many  days,"  x:  14;  xii:  4;  upon  this  suppo- 
sition the  modern  critical  hypothesis,  that  it  originated  neat 
400  years  after  Daniel  was  dead,  and  was  composed  by  a  2^1ac- 
cabean  novelist,  is  eternally  excluded.  Otherwise,  no  man 
more  wicked,  sacrilegious  or  insane,  than  he  who,  making  such 
statements  as  the  author  of  this  book  has  made,  and  knowing 
them  to  be  mendacious,  would  palm  them  off  as  true.  Doubly 
insane,  and  cruel  with  a  mocking  sympathy,  for  writing  a  book 
like  this,  January,  B.  C.  164 — as  the  critics  say — after  the  trib- 
ulation was  past  and  gone,  December,  165  B.  C. — the  Temple 
cleansed — in  order  to  arm  beforehand  and  comfort  with  a  fie- 


CHAPTERS  X-XII.—-  TIME  OF  THE  EXD."  i^j 

tion,  God's  people,  in  view  of  that  same  tribulation  yet  to  begin 
B.  C.  1 68! — still  more,  attributing  the  book  to  Daniel  who,  for 
the  Maccabean  writer,  was  no  more  than  a  myth!  Therefore, 
did  the  Holy  Spirit  use,  purposely,  the  designation  "  Scripture 
of  Truth"  warning  against  the  false  criticism  which,  in  all 
ages,  would  assail  the  "  book,"  and  especially  in  ours,  when 
the  time  for  its  last  fulfillment  approximates.  Knowing  that 
the  scofTer  would  come  in  the  last  days,  curling  his  crest 
against  the  Pentateuch,  the  Prophets,  the  Sacred  Books  of 
History,  and  eminently  against  the  Book  of  Daniel,  the  wis- 
dom of  God  fore-issued  this  divine  declaration  against  the  un- 
belief that  would  account  it  a  "  fiction,"  and  so  would  fortify 
God's  people  everywhere  in  opposition  to  a  scientific  skepti- 
cism that  sports  with  a  "  Revelation  "  from  heaven,  an  angel- 
spoken  "  word  of  Truth,"  recorded  by  a  holy  "  prophet,"  and 
sanctioned  by  Christ  and  His  apostles.  "  O,  Daniel,  greatly 
beloved,  be  strong  and  be  strong!" 


"  The  Eastern  Question  is  not  a  question  of  to-day,  nor  of  yester- 
day. When  history  first  began  to  be  written,  it  was  already  there. 
When  it  is  re-opened,  all  the  world  is  concerned.  It  is  Occidentalism 
in  its  inevitable  conflict  with  Orientalism.  Who  is  to  be  the  champion 
or  leader  of  Occidentalism,  now — the  Anglo-Saxon  or  the  Slav?  The 
world  is  arraying  itself  in  two  grand  camps.  It  is  no  longer  a  question 
who  shall  hold  Constantinople,  or  control  the  Suez  Canal,  or  com- 
mand the  pass  of  Thermopylae,  or  dictate  the  oracles  of  Delphi.  It  is 
the  old  question,  stated  now  in  terms  of  greater  things.  The  battle 
opens  on  the  same  old  field,  but  the  habitable  globe  is  involved. 
Isla:n  was  the  reaction  against  Alexander's  inroads,  and  Turkey  tarries 
in  Europe  only  because  the  forces  of  Occidentalism  are  not  united." 
— Wheeler. 


(148) 


Chapter  VIII. 

DANIEL,  CHAPTERS  X-XIL— TSABA  GADOL.  WAR- 
FARE GREAT.     MACCABEAN  TRIBULATION. 

In  chapter  xi.  the  angel  resumes  and  unfolds  the  prophetic 
history  of  the  Medo-Persian  and  Graeco-Macedonian  empires, 
and,  after  a  transition-section,  in  which  both  type  and  anti- 
type are  blended,  springs  from  the  "  Time  of  the  End  "  of  the 
3d  empire  to  the  "  Time  of  the  End"  of  the  4th,  i.  e.,  from  An- 
tiochus  Epiphanes  to  the  last  Antichrist.  Such  the  manner  of 
Drophecy.  By  this  means  he  brings  the  close  of  his  "  Revela- 
tion "  concerning  the  "  Warfare  Great "  into  harmony  with 
the  close  in  ii.,  vii.  and  ix.,  and  terminates  in  xii.  his  amazing 
apocalypse  of  the  future  of  the  Jews  and  of  the  kingdoms  of 
the  world.  Chapter  xi.,  therefore,  busies  itself  with  (i)  the 
Ram  and  Rough  Goat  of  viii.,  expanding  their  history;  (2) 
with  Two  of  the  Four  Horns  by  which  the  Notable  Horn  in 
viii.  was  succeeded;  (3)  with  the  Little  Horn  that  rose  out  of 
one  of  the  Four,  viz.:  w'ith  Antiochus  Epiphanes;  (4)  with  the 
Little  Florn  that  shall  rise  among  the  final  Ten  Horns  of  the 
4th  empire,  viz.:  the  last  Antichrist  represented  here  as  "  the 
King,"  xi:  36,  the  Antitype  of  Antiochus.  Thus  the  angel 
"  shows,"  i.  e.,  explains,  by  amplification,  "  what  is  written  in 
"  the  Scripture  of  Truth."  It  is  not  possible  to  imagine  a  more 
powerful  proof  of  the  truth  of  our  thesis.  The  "Warfare  Great" 
continues  till  closed  by  the  Destruction  of  the  Antichrist.  The 
Millennial  Kingdom  follows  when  "war  shall  be  no  more." 
The  two  ages  cannot  run  parallel.  What  we  are  now  to  con- 
sider in  this  long  and  difficult  chapter,  is  the  events  of  Persian 
and  Grecian  history,  which  lead  up  to  the  Maccabean  perse- 
cution; then,  in  the  next  article,  pass  to  the  Antichrist,  liis 

(149) 


I30  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

last  campaign,  the  Great  Tribulation,  ending  in  xii.  with  the 
Resurrection  of  the  holy  dead,  Israel's  deliverance,  and  the 
"  blessed  "  time  of  the  kingdom.  First,  however,  a  critical 
word. 

Modern  criticism  has  specially  attacked  this  chapter,  (i)  on 
account  of  the  minuteness,  multiplicity  and  exactitude  of  its 
details,  and  (2)  on  account  of  its  perfect  historical  fulfilment, 
as  far  as  xi:  35,  and  partly  as  far  as  xi:  39.  It  is  regarded  as  a 
spurious  production,  the  work  of  a  Jew  who,  under  the  mask  of 
prediction,  wrote  the  history  of  his  own  times,  nearly  400 
years  after  Daniel  was  dead,  attributing  the  same  to  the  proph- 
et of  the  exile  who,  for  him,  had  no  existence.*  The  clearness 
and  precision  of  the  prophecy  are  used  as  arguments  against 
its  genuineness  and  authenticity,  and  the  perfection  of  the 
prophecy  is  made  a  ground  of  objection  against  its  inspiration. 
This  modern  reproduction  of  Porphyry,  "  the  bitterest  enemy 
of  Christianity,"  1^^233-303,  1500  years  ago,  met  its  unan- 
swerable refutation  in  the  same  antiquity  from  the  pens  of 
Jerome,  Eusebius,  Apollinarius,  Methodius,  Chrysostom  and 
others,  as  it  has  again  from  the  most  eminent  scholars  who 
have  replied  to  the  modern  assault. 

The  criticism  is  worthless  when  once  the  reason  of  the 
prophecy  is  remembered,  in  connection  with  the  fact  that  pre- 
cisely for  want  of  further  details  the  vision  in  viii.  was  "  not 
understood,"  viii:  27:  that,  because  of  the  suspended  work  at 
Jersualem,  the  prophet  had  "mourned  and  fasted  "  and  seemed 

*The  criticism  decides  that  there  is  nothing  genuine  in  x-xii:  ex- 
cept xii:  1-4,  and  annexes  tlicsc  four  verses  to  ix.  That  is,  all  after  ix, 
save  these  verses,  is  a  "  Maccabean  interpolation!"  And  ix  and  xii: 
1-4  end  with  Antiochus!  It  is  worthless.  Ecclesiasticus,  B.  C.  180, 
or  16  years  before  B.  C.  164,  when  the  critics  say  Daniel's  book  was 
composed,  recognizes  Dan.  x:  13,  20,  and  imitates  the  texts.  The 
Septuagint,  begun  B.  C.  281,  or  117  years  before  164,  recognizes  the 
whole  book  of  Daniel.  Meinliold  has  critically  proved  that  the  book 
was  in  existence  from  B.  C.  250-300  before  Christ.  But,  more  than  all, 
by  friend  and  foe  aHke,  the  unity  of  the  authorship  of  the  book  is 
confessed.  The  concession  to  the  critics,  here,  by  Zockler  in  Lange, 
is  unfortunate.     Kampliauscn  has  trumpeted  it  most  vigorously. 


CHAPTERS  X-XII.—EASTERX  QUESTION.  151 

to  think  that  the  prediction  in  ix.  might  not  be  fulfilled,  x:  2,  3; 
and  that  having  now  received  the  details  he  declares  that  he 
came  to  "  understanding  of  the  vision,"  x:  i.  If  such  state- 
ments are  the  fabrications  of  a  novelist  it  is  a  crime  to  retain 
the  book  in  the  canon,  and,  moreover,  the  whole  New  Testa- 
ment eschatology  founded  upon  it  is  false.  They  are  not  fab- 
rications. The  reason  of  the  prophecy  is  all-sufficient.  It  was 
in  the  purpose  of  God  that  prophecy  should  cease  with  Alala- 
chi,  and  that  during  400  years,  next  ensuing,  no  prophet  should 
arise  to  guide  God's  people  in  a  crisis  that  threatened  to  sweep 
away  their  new-built  city,  temple,  religion,  and  even  their  ex- 
istence. What  wonder,  then,  that,  commiserating  the  plaint  of 
the  prophet  who  desired  more  details  concerning  the  future, 
and  knowing  well  the  thunderbolt  that  would  strike  the  Jews 
for  their  apostacy,  the  Lord,  in  xi.,  should  repeat  and  amplify 
what  had  been  begun  in  viii.,  just  as  He  repeated  and  ampli- 
fied in  viii.  what  had  been  begun  in  vii.  and  ii.?  What  wonder 
that  He  should  thus  forewarn  the  faithful  against  the  soph- 
isms and  seductions  with  which  the  spread  of  Greek  culture 
would  ensnare  them,  and  by  the  very  details  of  forerunning 
events  cause  "them  of  understanding  among  the  people,"  xi: 
33,  to  see  approaching  danger,  and  so  prepare  and  arm  the 
faithful  with  the  courage  and  the  constancy  that  made  the 
Alaccabean  victory  so  glorious?  The  forecast  events,  as  year 
after  year,  they  were  realized  in  history  and  the  day  of  trouble 
drew  near,  could  only  incite  those  "  who  feared  the  Lord  to 
speak  often  one  to  another,"  Mai.  iii:  16,  and  confirm  their 
own  and  their  children's  faith.  And  as  to  the  far-off  "  End  " 
on  which  the  hope  of  Israel  rested,  what  other  termination 
could  be  given  to  this  prediction  of  the  "  Warfare  Great,"  than 
that  which  crowns  the  \vhole  complex  prophecy  of  this 
"  Book  "  with  Israel's  ultimate  and  full  deliverance,  connected 
with  the  Resurrection  of  the  holy  dead  at  Messiah's  Second 
Coming?  In  both  respects,  xi.  and  xii.  are  an  illustrious 
proof  of  the  love  and  care  of  God  for  His  people,  a  monument 
of  His  unchanging  faithfulness  to  all  generations.    The  objec- 


152 


DANIELS  GREAT  PROPHECY. 


tion  to  muiutcncss  and  multiplicity  of  details  may  be  brought 
with  equal  force  against  the  prophecies  in  ii.  and  vii.  concern- 
ing the  close  of  the  4th  empire,  and  in  ix.  concerning  the  chro- 
nology and  close  of  the  70  Weeks.  It  is  wholly  worthless.  It 
would  rule  out  the  apocalypses  of  Ezekiel  and  John,  and  the 
minute  predictions  of  all  the  prophets. 

It  is  no  man-made  narrative,  under  the  mask  of  prophecy, 
wc  have  here,  but  true  prediction,  the  tone,  gaps,  leaps,  style 
and  manner  of  prediction,  its  organic  and  typical  relations.  It 
is  a  prophecy  of  "  Warfare  Great "  not  only  between  the  na- 
tions, but  between  Israel  and  the  nations.  There  is  not,  in 
this  chapter,  a  line,  movement,  campaign,  alliance,  intrigue, 
succession,  victory  or  defeat,  by  sea  or  land,  that  does  not  in 
some  way,  affect  the  fortunes  of  the  Jews  and  Palestine.  There 
is  not  a  movement  of  the  Jews  that  does  not  in  some  way  affect 
the  empires  and  the  kingdoms  of  this  world.  It  is  a  long 
"  Warfare,"  whose  final  action  is  decided  alone  by  the  Second 
Coming  of  Christ;  a  "  Warfare  Great  "  made  necessary  by  the 
laws  of  history,  the  moral  order  of  the  universe,  but,  more  than 
all,  by  the  Kingdom  of  God  and  the  relation  of  Israel  and  the 
Nations  thereto.  With  clairvoyant  gaze,  the  eyes  of  the  angel 
see  the  world-movements  of  Persia  and  Greece,  from  East  to 
West  and  from  West  to  East,  and  of  the  kingdoms  of  Syria 
and  Egypt,  from  North  to  South  and  from  South  to  North,  in- 
volving Eut-ope,  Asia  and  Africa,  Palestine  now  quivering  like 
an  aspen  leaf  in  the  wind,  now  crushed  like  a  grape  cluster  in 
the  winepress.  A  deep  philosophy  of  history  is  here,  a  mys- 
tery great,  an  age-long  contention  by  rival  powers  for  Pales- 
tine, involving  a  Jewish  History  that  even  Hegel  confessed 
could  not  be  explained  on  principles  of  natural  evolution,  a 
riddle  whose  solution  is  Israel  hated  by  all  nations,  at  last  the 
master  of  all.  The  angel  sees  in  the  situation  at  the  close  of  the 
3d  empire  a  type  of  the  situation  at  the  close  of  the  4th,  the 
Jews  being  the  last  bone  of  contention  among  the  "  Powers." 
He  shows  how  the  nations  hold  each  other  at  arms'  length 
while  professing  friendship;  how  vain  are  the  intrigues  of  kings 


CHAPTERS  X-XIL— EASTERN  QUESTION. 


153 


and  courts,  the  schemes  of  diplomats,  merchants  and  explor- 
ers, revenue  raisers  and  colonizers;  how  alliances  and  crowns 
are  no  effective  pledge  of  national  stability,  and  armies  and 
fleets  no  guarantee  of  national  security;  how  the  reasons  of  de- 
feat or  victory  lie  deeper  than  tactics  and  strategy,  even  in  a 
plexus  of  causes  social,  moral,  religious,  civil  and  political,  all 
under  the  controlling  hand  of  God,  and  in  a  purpose  of  God  with 
respect  lo  the  Jeicish  race  zuJiicli  tJie  zvJwle  concert  of  earth's 
"  Pozvers  "  is  unable  to  thzvart.  He  selects  and  unveils  momen- 
tous crises  and  epochs  in  the  drama  of  the  age  next  following 
the  Exile — pivotal  events  around  which  the  fortunes  of  the 
Jews  and  Palestine  with  all  its  destiny  revolve — all  of  them 
prefigurations  of  the  last  crisis  that  ends  with  Israel's  victory 
and  the  triumph  of  the  Kingdom  of  God. 

The  geography  of  the  prophecy  is  easily  determined.  It  is 
that  of  the  empire  of  Cyrus,  eight  times  greater  than  the  em- 
pire of  Babylon,  stretching  from  Thibet  and  the  Indus  to  the 
Mediterranean  and  Aegean  seas,  and  from  the  Danube,  Black 
Sea,  Caucasus,  Caspian  and  the  Jaxartes,  to  the  Indian  Ocean, 
Persian  Gulf  and  the  deserts  of  Arabia  and  Nubia — the  empire 
of  one  who  struck  the  fetters  from  the  Jews,  restored  the  exiles 
and  enabled  them  to  build  their  temple  and  their  city.  It  is 
the  empire  of  Alexander  who  carried  his  conquests  still  farther 
southward  to  the  cataracts  of  the  Nile.  It  is  the  empire  of 
Rome  extended  yet  farther  westward  to  the  British  Isles.  It  is 
the  territory  covered  by  the  Colossus  of  Gentile  politics  and 
power  in  ii. — the  scene  of  the  "  Warfare  Great."  Having 
glanced  at  the  earlier  world-movements  East  and  West  and  the 
fortunes  of  the  Jews  under  Persian  and  Greek  supremacy,  the 
angel  specially  unveils  the  movements  North  and  South,  his 
eyes  ever  resting  on  the  Holy  Land,  the  middle  union-point  of 
the  three  01d-\\'orld  continents,  the  envy  of  all  kings  from  the 
beginning  of  the  world.  Nor  even  here  does  he  narrow  the 
scope  of  his  vision,  as  the  crisis  for  Israel  comes  on.  He 
causes  to  pass  before  us  the  whole  East  and  West,  North  and 
South,  the  Syrian,  Egyptian  and  Roman  powers  contending  in 


154  VAX  I  EL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

Asia,  Europe  and  Africa,  Scipio  in  the  field,  Popilius  on  the 
sea;  Euergetcs  marching  not  merely  to  Antioch  but  to  the  Eu- 
phrates and  trundling  homeward  images  and  statues  once  the 
booty  of  Cambyses.  The  expulsion  of  Antiochus  the  Great  out 
of  Europe,  the  ruin  of  Epiphanes  in  Persia,  are  here,  both  con- 
nected with  the  fortunes  of  the  Jewish  people — a  vivid  illustra- 
tion of  that  "ever-recurring  law"  of  historical  movement,  which 
a  Rawlinson,  Stanley  and  Creasy  have  noted — invasion  from 
Xorth  to  South,  and  East  to  West,  provoking  counter  move- 
ments, and  regularly  so  at  fixed  though  unequal  interv^als  of 
lime.  The  Euphrates,  Babylon,  Persia,  Armenia,  Syria,  Egypt, 
Asia  Minor,  Italy,  Greece,  Crete,  Cyprus  a.ud  always  Pales- 
tine, are  here;  the  Persian  Gulf,  the  Caspian  and  Black  seas, 
the  Aegean  and  the  Mediterranean,  all  that  pertains  to  the 
Turkish  empire,  are  here;  the  Dardanelles,  the  Bosphorus  and 
old  Byzantium.  The  shore-line  of  Palestine  the  fortresses  of 
Sidon,  Gaza,  Seleucia,  and  Pelusium  are  here;  Antioch,  Je- 
rusalem, Damascus  and  Aleppo,  the  OrontCG,  the  Jordan,  the 
Nile  and  the  Tiber — all  clear  to  him  who  st  jdies  the  "  mean- 
ing "  of  the  vision.  We  hear,  as  we  read,  ihe  shouts  of  en- 
countering hosts,  and  see  the  assaults  on  bcleagured  citadels, 
the  sea-fights  at  Ephcsus  and  Chios,  the  battles  of  Raphia, 
-.lagnesia,  Mount  Panium  near  the  sources  of  the  Jordan,  the 
horrors  at  Jerusalem,  and  sit  beside  diplomat,  and  kings  intrig- 
uing in  their  palaces  to  unite  their  kingdoms,  with  Palestine 
as  the  dowry  of  their  royal  brides.  It  is  the  "  Eastern  Question" 
that  is  here,  a  question  not  limited  or  locai,  but  ubiquitous, 
affecting  to-day  the  deepest  interests  of  Russia,  England, 
France,  Austria,  Germany,  Egypt,  Greece,  Turkey  and  Palcs- 
line,  in  their  relations  to  each  other,  to  India,  China,  and 
Japan,  and  to  Africa,  affecting  the  whole  world;  an  age-long 
contention  between  confiicting  civilizations,  with  creeds  and 
forms  of  government,  and  prejudices  of  race  and  tradition  di- 
verse and  opposed  as  the  poles;  that  "inacJic  athanatos"  of  Plato, 
the  "  immortal  confiict  "  between  truth  and  error,  right  and 
wrong,  wdiich  endures  till  a  "  new  cycle  "  of  time  shall  bring 


CHAPTERS  X-XIl.—EASTERX  QUESTfOX.  155 

its  close.  What  statesman  in  any  cabinet  or  chamber  of  mod- 
ern legislation  has  ever  lifted  his  voice  to  tell  the  world  that, 
as  in  Moses,  Isaiah,  Ezekiel,  Zcphaniah  and  Zechariah,  so 
here  Daniel  has  exhibited,  in  chapters  viii.  and  xi.,  the  "  East- 
ern Question  "  in  terms  impossible  to  be  misunderstood,  or  that 
the  waters  of  the  Hellespont,  the  yEgean  and  ^Mediterranean 
sea&,  with  the  Isles  of  Greece  and  Asia  Minor,  and  the  main- 
lands washed  by  them — the  storm-centre  of  the  Eastern  Ques- 
tion in  every  age — form  for  the  prophet  the  geographical  thea- 
tre of  his  vision  of  the  "  Warfare  Great?"  or  that  here  the  fleets 
of  the  nations  must  meet  to  sink  and  sail  no  more,  in  that  final 
crisis  when  "  Heaven,  Earth,  Sea,  Dry  Land,  and  all  Nations" 
are  "  shaken?"  It  is  the  light  of  prophecy  that  enables  us  to 
see  and  understand  the  immense  significance  of  the  recent  acts 
of  the  "  Powers  "  in  reference  to  Crete,  Greece,  Turkey.  Arme- 
nia, and  what  the  parallel  Jewish  movements  forebode.  In  the 
words  of  a  great  and  deep  writer  in  our  day,  "  International 
politics,  the  world  over,  are  resolvable  into  some  form  of  the 
Eastern  Question.  It  haunts  the  history  of  civilized  mankind." 
But  to  come  back.  It  belongs  to  the  very  perfection  of  the 
prophecy,  whose  compactness  and  lapidary  brevity  are  without 
a  parallel,  that  volumes  of  detail  can  be  crowded  into  its  expo- 
sition. It  is  a  "  Scripture  of  Truth  "  covering  the  fortunes  of 
the  Jews  in  contact  zcith  the  nations,  from  3d  Cyrus,  B.  C.  534, 
to  nth  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  B.  C.  164,  a  period  of  370  years, 
together  with  the  scenes  and  events  preceding  and  during  the 
70  Weeks  in  chapter  ix.,  the  near  horizon  of  the  3d  empire,  a 
type  of  the  far  horizon  of  the  4th, 

GENERAL  DIVISION. 

The  division  of  the  chapter  is  not  difificult.  It  falls  into  the 
following  sections;  (i)  verses  2-4;  (2)  verses  5-9;  (3)  verses  10- 
20;  (4)  verses  21-35;  (5^  verses  36-39;  (5)  verses  40-45. 

I.  Verses  2-4.  The  Persian  and  Greek  supremacies.  The 
angel  first  of  all  unrolls  the  Persian  succession  after  Cyrus,  as 
far  as  to  the  fourth  in  the  line.    Three  kings,  the  false  Smcrdis 


156  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

omitted,  shall  arise  after  Cyrus,  the  fourth  one  the  proud  in- 
vader of  Greece,  1 1 :2.    These  are 

(i)  Cyrus  to  Cambyses,  B.  C.  538-529. 

(2)  Cymbyses  to  Darius  Hystaspes,  529-521. 

(3)  Darius  Hystaspes  to  Xerxes,  521-480. 

(4)  Xerxes'  Invasion  in  5th  year,  480,  a  period  of  58  years. 
Overleaping  next  a  period  of  148  years,  filled  by  a  succession 
of  eight  Persian  kings,  he  unveils  the  empire  of  Alexander  the 
Great  and  his  counter  invasion  of  Persia  and  the  East,  11:3. 

(i)  Alexander's  empire,  B.  C.  334-323. 
(2)  Alexander's  death,  323. 

Overleaping  a  period  of  21  years,  he  unveils  the  quadriparti- 
tion  of  Alexander's  empire,  B.  C.  302,  into  the 

DIADOCHIAN  KINGDOMS. 

(i)  Egypt  and  Palestine  ruled  by  Ptolemy. 

(2)  North  Syria  ruled  by  Seleucus. 

(3)  Macedonia  and  Thrace  ruled  by  Cassander. 

(4)  Asia  Minor  ruled  by  Lysimachus. 

These  four  generals  of  Alexander  are  called  "  Diadochi "  or 
"  Successors,"  yet  "  not  of  his  posterity,"  11 :4.  Of  these  king- 
doms the  two  selected  by  the  angel  for  special  prophecy  were 
chosen  because  Palestine  lay  between  them.  Under  the  title 
"  King  of  the  North,"  i.  e.,  of  Syria,  seven  Seleucid  kings,  and 
under  the  title  "  King  of  the  South,"  i.  e.,  of  Egypt,  six  Pto- 
lemies, are  included,  as  follow,  according  to  the  times  of  their 
reigns: 

PTOLEMIES  AND  SELEUCIDS. 

(1)  Ptolemy  I.  Soter,  B.  C.  323-285;  Seleucus  I.  Nicator,  B. 
C.  312-280 — 11:5. 

(2)  Ptolemy  II.  Philadelphus,  B.  C.  285-247;  Antiochus  II. 
Theo'S,  B.  C.  261-246 — 11:6. 

(3)  Ptolemy  III.Euergetes,  B.  C.  247-221;  Seleucus  II.  Kal- 
linikos,  B.  C.  246-226 — 11:7-9. 

(4)  Ptolemy  IV.  Philopator,  B.  C.  221-205;  Seleucus  III. 
Keraunos,  B.  C.  226-222 — 11:10-12. 


CHAPTERS  X-XII.— EASTERN  QUESTION.  157 

(5)  Ptolemy  V.  Epiphanes,  B.  C.  205-181;  Antiochus  III., 
the  Great,  B.  C.  222-187 — 11:13-19. 

(6)  Seleiicus  IV.,  B.  C.  187-175 — 11:20. 

(7)  Ptolemy  VI.  Philometor,  B.  C.  181-146;  Antiochus  IV. 
Epiphanes,  B.  C.  175-164 — 11:21-35. 

that  is,  six  Ptolemies  and  six  Seleucids  prior  to  Antiochus 
Epiphanes;  twelve  in  all,  or  thirteen  in  all,  the  reign  of  Antio- 
chus I.,  B.  C.  280-261,  being  overleaped  and  unnoticed. 

THE  INTERVALS. 

Remarkable  are  the  Intervals  or  Gaps  in  this  prophecy  of 
the  future  from  3d  Cyrus  to  nth  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  534- 
175=35^  years.  The  angel  chooses  the  events  he  foretells  as 
stepping-stones  to  the  crisis.  Prophetic  history  is  one  thing, 
ordinary  secular  history  another.  No  uninspired  v^riter  would 
write  history  as  here  forecast,  (i)  An  interval  of  146  years  lies 
between  verses  2  and  3,  from  5th  Xerxes  480  to  Alexander  334, 
including  eight  Persian  kings.  (2)  Another  of  21  years,  be- 
tween the  clauses  in  verse  4,  from  Alexander's  death  to  the 
partition  of  his  empire,  323-302.  (3)  Another  of  30  years,  be- 
tween 5  and  6,  covering  the  omitted  reign  of  Antiochus  I.,  280- 
261,  and  on  to  the  alliance  with  Berenice,  250.  (4)  Another  of 
three  years,  between  6  and  7,  from  the  murder  of  Berenice  to 
the  invasion  of  Syria  by  her  brother,  Euergetes,  250-247.  (5) 
Another  of  20  years,  between  9  and  10,  from  Euergetes  to  the 
sons  of  Seleucus  II.,  247-227.  (6)  Another  of  13  years,  be- 
tween 12  and  13,  from  the  defeat  of  Antiochus  III.  at  Raphia 
to  his  second  invasion  of  Syria,  217-204.  (7)  Another  of  eight 
years,  between  17  and  18,  from  the  alliance  with  Cleopatra  to 
the  last  campaign  of  Antiochus  III.,  198-190.  The  sum  of  the 
Intervals  is  241  years,  out  of  a  period  of  359  years  covered  by 
the  prophecy.  The  great  interval  of  2061  years  already  gone 
between  verses  39  and  40,  will  be  seen  hereafter.  No  "  histo- 
rian "  would  write  history  in  this  way.  No  "  forger  "  would. 
The  intervals  are  proofs  of  the  supernatural  origin  of  the 
prophecy.    The  angel  unveils  the 


158  DANIELS  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

WARS  OF  SYRIA  AND  EGYPT. 

The  warfare  wages  from  Ptolemy  I.  and  Seleticus  I.  to  the 
death  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  11:5-35,  ^  C.  306-164,  a  period 
of  142  years,  somewhat  more  than  the  whole  of  the  3d  and 
somewhat  less  than  the  half  of  the  2d  century  before  the  First 
Advent  of  Christ.  The  angel  gives  us  a  picture  of  the  "  War- 
tare  Great  "  at  the  close  of  the  3d  prophetic  empire,  the  strug- 
gle of  the  Northern  Power  to  gain  Coelo-Syria,  Palestine,  Phe- 
nicia  and  Egypt,  then  Macedonia  and  Asia  Minor,  in  order  to 
form  one  undivided  empire,  and  so  control  the  world's  com- 
merce and  acquire  supremacy  over  the  three  great  continents 
of  Europe,  Asia  and  Africa,  the  type  of  a  scheme  yet  to  be, 
under  the  last  Antichrist  before  the  Second  Advent  of  Christ. 

II.  Verses  11:5-9,  ^-  C.  306-247,  a  period  of  59  years,  from 
Ptolemy  I.  and  Seleucus  I.,  "  one  of  the  princes  "  of  Ptolemy, 
and  founder  of  the  Syrian  kingdom,  11:5,  to  the  first  invasion 
of  Syria  by  Ptolemy  III.,  11:7.  Overleaping  the  reign  of  An- 
tiochus I.,  280-261,  or  20  years,  the  angel  foretells  the  disas- 
trous alliance  between  Syria  and  Egypt,  by  the  betrothment 
of  Berenice,  daughter  of  Ptolemy  II.  to  Antiochus  II.,  Antio- 
chus divorcing  his  wife  in  order  to  unite  the  two  kingdoms 
with  Palestine  as  the  dowry  of  Berenice;  the  scheme  ending  in 
ihe  assassination  of  the  latter,  1 1 :6.  He  foretells  also  the  in- 
vasion of  Syria  under  Seleucus  II.  by  Ptolemy  III.,  "a  branch" 
out  of  Berenice's  "  roots,"  i.  e.,  by  her  own  brother,  sprung 
from  the  same  parents,  in  order  to  avenge  her  death;  an  inva- 
sion reaching  to  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates,  Ptolemy  return- 
ing with  "  captives,"  "  gods  "  and  "  gold  and  silver  vessels," 
and  surviving  Seleucus  four  years,  ii  :6-9,  B.  C.  247. 

III.  Verses  11:10-20,  B.  C.  227-175,  a  period  of  52  years, 
(i)  Overleaping  20  years,  247-227,  down  to  the  "  sons  "  of 
Seleucus  II.,  viz.:  Seleucus  III.,  22y,  and  Antiochus  III.  the 
Great,  224,  the  angel  foretells  the  invasion  of  Egypt  by  the 
latter  and  his  ovei  whelming  defeat  at  Raphia  by  Ptolemy  IV., 
a  victory,  however,  thrown  away,  11:  10-12,  B.  C.  217.  (2) 
Overleaping   13  years,  called  '*  certain  years,"  217-204,  the 


CHAPTERS  X-y  11. —EASTERN  QUESTION.  159 

angel  unveils  the  second  invasion  of  Egypt  by  Antiochus  III., 
his  stupendous  victory  over  Ptolemy  Iv'.  at  the  battle  of  Mount 
Panium,  near  the  sources  of  the  Jordan,  the  elite  of  the  Egyp- 
tian army  unable  to  withstand  him,  his  recovery  also  of  the 
fortress  of  Sidon  and  the  "  fenced  cities,"  and  his  conquest  of 
Palestine,  "  with  destruction  in  his  hand,"  11:13-16,  B.  C.  198. 
Irresistible  force,  a  rich  military  chest,  and  strong  allies  should 
accomplish  this.  But  more,  the  "  Robbers  "  of  the  Jewish 
people,  the  "  Violent  among  the  Jews,"  the  revolutionists  of 
the  Holy  Land,  should  league  themselves  with  the  King  of 
the  North  to  aid  him,  }iopi)ig  thereby  to  i^nii  the  independence  of 
falesiiiie,  but  signally  fail,  liereby  they  should  only  bind  on 
themselves  the  Syrian  yoke,  pave  the  way  for  the  horrors  to 
come  under  the  Greek  Antichrist,  and  so,  without  intent,  help 
"  fulfill  the  vision"  of  the  "  Warfare  Great,"  11 :  14. 

(3)  After  an  imposing  military  demonstration  there  should 
be  a  second  alliance  between  Syria  and  Egypt,  a  scheme  again 
for  the  union  of  the  two  kingdoms,  based  on  what  Eastern 
monarchs  would  call  "  equitable  negotiations  "  (not  "  upright 
ones  "),  all  the  more  so  since  Egypt  should  be  in  her  con- 
queror's power;  the  scheme  this,  viz.:  the  marriage  of  Cleo- 
patra, the  daughter  of  Antiochus,  to  Ptolemy  V.,  in  order  to 
betray  Egypt  into  her  father's  hands,  a  scheme  foiled  by  her 
wifely  fidelity  to  her  husband;  Cleopatra  or  ruin,  the  "  equita- 
ble negotiations!"  11:17,  ^-  ^-  I95-  (4)  Einally,  Antiochus 
should  undertake  an  expedition  against  the  coast  islands  of 
Asia  Minor,  B.  C.  190,  but  suffer  a  fair  and  honorable  yet  last- 
ing defeat  by  Scipio  Asiaticus  at  the  battle  of  Alagnesia,  losing 
also  his  fleet  at  Ephesus,  and  thus,  punished  for  his  insults,  be 
driven  in  retreat  toward  his  own  stronghold,  compelled  to  sur- 
render all  his  European  possessions,  his  eastern  ones  also  west 
of  the  Taurus,  forced  out  of  Europe  by  the  Romans,  loaded 
with  indemnity,  killed  while  plundering  the  temple  of  Jupiter 
at  Elymais,  and  so  disappearing  forever  from  human  history. 
11:18,  TQ,  B.  C.  187.  His  successor— Seleucus  IV..  a  "  Reve- 
nue  Raiser  "   causing  Helioderus  to  go  through   Palestine, 


l6o  DAXIEVS  GREAT  rROFHECY. 

and  attempting  to  plunder  the  temple, — should  enjoy  a  brief 
reign,  and  sufier  by  poison  at  Heliodorus'  hands  a  death  as 
ignominous  as  that  of  his  predecessor,  11:20,  B.  C.  175.  Thus, 
in  his  own  way,  in  11 :5-20,  the  angel  foretold  the  founding  of 
the  Syrian  kingdom,  11:5;  unveiled  two  diplomatic  scenes,  one 
in  the  palace  at  Antioch,  1 1 :6,  the  other  in  the  palace  at  Alex- 
andria, 11:17,  o^s  invasion  of  Syria,  11:7-9,  ^^^o  invasions  of 
Egypt  and  the  conquest  of  Palestine  by  the  King  of  the  North, 
ii;io-i2,  13-16.  Also  his  last  campaign  and  ignominous  end, 
11:  18,  19,  with  that  of  his  successor,  11:20 — the  whole  in- 
tended to  lead  up  to  the  advent  of  the  "  Madman,"  or  Greek 
Antichrist,  viz.: 

ANTIOCHUS  IV.,  EPIPIIANES. 

IV.  Verses  11:21-35,  B.  C.  175-164.  Of  this  wild  beast  in 
human  form  the  angel  foretells  that  a  "  Vile  "  or  "  Contemp- 
tible Person  "  should,  in  the  place  of  ("  the  state  of  ")  Seleu- 
cus  IV.  stand  up  in  his  pride,  a  younger  son  of  Antiochus  the 
Great,  born  B.  C.  221,  dying  B.  C.  164,  the  "  Little  Horn  '"  in 
8:9,  20  years  a  hostage  at  Rome,  and  without  title  to  the 
jirone,  and  should,  at  the  age  of  58  years,  effect  a  successful 
coup  d'  ctat,  usurping  by  craft  the  Syrian  crown,  11:21,  B.  C. 
175;  that,  under  him,  the  same  playing  fast  and  loose  with 
truth  and  treaties,  which  distinguished  his  house,  and  now  pre- 
vails in  modern  times,  should  continue,  the  same  diplomacy  in 
foreign  affairs,  the  utter  absence  of  good  faith  and  presence  of 
dissimulation,  the  pretence  of  peace  while  preparing  war,  the 
promise  of  reforms  for  Israel  while  effecting  none,  the  practice 
of  menace,  intrigue,  and  force,  to  secure  dynastic  interests,  a 
policy  in  which  financial  and  political  would  be  the  first  and 
justice,  truth,  humanity  and  righteousness,  the  last  considera- 
tions— that,  true  to  the  traditions  of  this  house,  he  would  estab- 
lish his  kingdom  (i)  by  leaguing  with  apostate  Jews,  Palestine 
now  in  his  possession,  breaking  a  pre-existing  covenant  to 
give  the  Holy  Land  to  Egypt's  queen  as  her  dowry,  and  in 
which  Ptolemy  Philometor  was  "  prince  of  the  covenant,"  11: 


CHAPTERS  X-XII.— EASTERN  QUESTION  i6i 

22,  repelling  by  superior  force  "the  arms  of  a  flood;"  Ptolemy's 
invasion  of  Syria  to  enforce  a  treaty  right,  and  entering  into  a 
new  treaty;  and,  that  "after  the  league  made  with  him,"  he, 
Antiochus,  would  "  work  deceitfully,"  11:23;  (2)  by  taking  ad- 
vantage of  the  wars  in  Macedonia,  Greece  and  Southern  Eu- 
rope, he  would  endeavor  to  conquer  Egypt,  uniting  both  king- 
doms in  one,  then  Macedonia,  Thrace,  Greece  and  Asia  Minor, 
so  forming  one  mighty  empire  out  of  all,  controlling  the  Aled- 
iterranean  and  acquiring  supremacy  over  the  three  continents. 
The  angel  predicts  that  his 

CAMPAIGNS  AGAINST   EGYPT 

would  be  three,  and  in  the  following  order,  viz.: 

(i)  The  First  Campaign  would  be  a  crafty  entrance  into 
Egypt  with  a  small  force,  *'  in  time  of  security,"  marching 
along  the  rich  provinces  of  Lower  Egypt — the  Nile  Valley — 
coming  up  as  far  as  Memphis,  simulating  friendship  yet  plun- 
dering the  country,  and,  in  order  to  become  "  strong  "  with 
the  Egyptians,  distributing  wealth  and  spoil  to  the  people,  con- 
trary to  the  custom  of  his  house,  and  plotting  against  the  for- 
tresses, 11:23,  24,  B.  C.  173. 

(2)  The  Second  Campaign  would  be  in  force,  courageously, 
defeating  the  great  army  of  Ptolemy  betrayed  by  his  own  cour- 
tiers into  the  hands  of  Antiochus;  that,  then,  forming  a  new 
treaty,  one  king  in  the  power  of  the  other,  "  both  these  kings' 
hearts  would  be  to  do  mischief,"  both  "  speaking  lies  at  one 
table,"  yet  unsuccessfully,  because  God  had  set  a  time-limit  to 
their  intrigues.  The  angel  here  draws  a  picture  of  modern 
diplomacy  also,  true  to  the  life.  He  paints  Gentile  politics  and 
l)Ower  in  living  costume,  the  code  and  cunning  of  the  great 
Colossus,  the  inner  life  of  the  Beasts,  11 :25-27,  B.  C.  170. 

(3)  The  Third  Campaign  should  be  in  force  again,  but  disas- 
trous to  Antiochus,  since  Popilius  Loenas  and  the  Roman  fleet 
from  the  naval  stations  at  Cyprus  and  Crete — "  the  ships  from 
Kittim  " — would  compel  him  to  vacate  Egypt  at  once  and  try 
his  hand  elsewhere,  11:29,  30»  B.  C.  168. 

Still  more,  the  angel  predicts  that  his 


1 62  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

CAMPAIGNS  AGAINST  PALESTINE 

would  be  two,  and  in  the  following  order,  viz.: 

(i)  The  First  Campaign  would  be  upon  his  return  north- 
ward from  his  Second  Expedition  against  Egypt.  Furious  be- 
cause of  distraction  and  excited  by  rumors  of  revolt  in  Jeru- 
salem, he  would  assail  the  "  Holy  Covenant  " — a  technical  ex- 
pression for  the  Holy  City,  Temple,  People,  Worship  and  Mo- 
saic institutions — invading  the  Holy  Land,  devoting  to  de- 
struction 80,000  Jews,  taking  10,000  prisoners,  rifling  the  tem- 
ple of  1,800  talents  equal  to  $3,250,000,  set  up  a  High  Priest  to 
suit  himself,  the  mitre,  robes  and  breast-plate  of  Aaron  al- 
ready sold  for  440  talents,  150  more  given  him  for  the  right  to 
erect  a  Greek  Gymnasium  to  please  young  men  of  Jerusalem 
weary  of  their  covenant  with  God.  Thus  should  he  "  do  "  and 
go  home  to  Antioch,  11:28,  B.  C.  170;  L  Mace,  i:  16-28;  H. 
Mace,  v:  11 -21. 

(2)  The  Second  Campaign  would  be  upon  his  expulsion  from 
Egypt  by  the  Roman  fleet  under  Popilius,  11:30,  when,  humil- 
iated, and  raging  like  a  madman,  he  would  return  northward, 
with  indignation  against  the  ''  Holy  Covenant,"  and,  in  league 
with  the  apostates,  devote  20,000  more  to  massacre,  pollute 
the  bulwarked  sanctuary  of  God,  abolish  the  Daily  Sacrifice, 
set  up  "  the  Abomination  causing  desolation  " — a  pagan  altar 
on  the  altar  of  Jehovah — violating  mothers  and  daughters  and 
hanging  infants,  increasing  by  corruption  the  number  of  apos- 
tates and  giving  orders  to  his  generals  if  failing  to  Hellenize 
the  Holy  People,  then  to  "root  out  the  seed  of  Abraham," 
"  root  out  their  religion,"  "  root  out  the  whole  race  of  Jews  " 
and  "  make  Jerusalem  a  common  burying-ground,"  11:31,  32. 
All  which  he  would  ''  do  "  or  attempt  to  "  do,"  B.  C.  168-165; 
I.  Mace,  i:  29-64;  iii:  32-37.  The  climax  of  horror  was  reached 
15th  and  25th  December,  B.  C.  168.  The  vision  of  it  is  given 
in  chapter  viii:  9-14,  23-25. 

Rut.  though  ground  between  contending  empires,  God 
would  not  forsake  Plis  people.  His  covenant  stands  fast. 
Evermore  there  shall  be  "  a  remnant  according  to  the  election 


CHAPTERS  X-XII.-EASTERN  QUESTION.  163 

of  grace,"  a  company  of  overcoming  souls,  faithful  to  death, 
ordained  to  wear  a  crown  brighter  than  David  wore  and  jew- 
eled with  gems  more  lustrous  than  the  stones  on  Aaron's 
breast.  If  Antiochus  can  "  do,"  God's  people  also  shall  '  do." 
The  angel  foretells 

THE   MACCABEAN   TRIBULATION. 

He  depicts  the  unsurpassed  courage  of  a  holy  Mattathias 
and  his  five  sons,  among  whom  Judas  lAIaccab^us,  the  "  Ham- 
mer "  of  God— a  Charles  Alartel  before  his  time— and  all  his 
Asmonean  heroes  should  stand  forth  strong  in  the  strength  of 
God,  resisting  the  commandments  of  the  Greek  Antichrist- 
God's  own,  who,  through  faith  should  "obtain  a  good  report," 
when  persecution  would  be  the  greatest,  the  tyrants  rage  the 
hottest.    "  The  people  who  know  their  God  shall  be  strong  and 
dor  11:  32.     Soul-thrilling  is  the  record  of  their  deeds,  in  I. 
]\Iacc.  ii:  1-70.    He  predicts  that  the  holy  Teachers,  the  "'  Mas- 
Mimr  or  men  of  understanding,  should  instruct  the  people 
to  stand  for  the  truth,  God,  and  the  religion  of  their  fathers  in 
the  midst  of  captivity  and  martyrdom  by  Hame  and  sword, 
spoiled  of  all  things,  their  only  raiment  sheepskins  and  goat- 
skms,  their  home  the  battle-field,  their  shelter  the  dens"  and 
caves  of  the  earth;  that  a  little  band  of  pious  souls,  the  faithful 
"Chasidim,"  would  rally  to  their  help,  when  all  seemed  lost; 
that  a  crowd  of  cowards,  deserters  in  time  of  danger,  hypocrites 
and  flatterers  in  time  of  victory,  would  cleave  to  thim;  that 
among  the  slain  should  be  some  of  the  brave  hero-leaders  who 
would  win  the  martyr's  crown;  that  God's  design  was  to  "try, 
purify  and  make  white"  His  loved  ones,  show  to  the  world  the' 
indestructibility  of  grace,  the  power  of  faith  and  patience  of 
hope,  and  that  neither  tribulation  nor  distress,  nor  persecu- 
tion, famine,  nakedness,  peril  or  sword,  could  separate  them 
from  His  love;  and,  finally,  that  though  severe,  the  tribulation 
would  be  short,  even  "for  an  appointed  time  "—the  11 50  days     ^301 
mentioned  in  viii:   14.     So  does  the  angel  unveil  the  "  War- "^^''*^'^ 
fare  Great  "  at  the  close  of  Old  Testament  times.     That  the  il-      "^^^^ 
lustrious  heroes  of  the  Maccabsan  age  were  sustained  by  the 


i64  DANIELS  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

Hope  of  the  Resurrection,  which  their  holy  prophets,  from 
Moses  to  Daniel,  had  set  before  them — yea,  from  Abraham's 
day — their  history  most  touchingly  attests.  Thrilling,  beyond 
description  is  the  story  of  the  martyrdom  of  the  iMaccabsean 
mother  and  her  seven  sons — a  story  without  a  parallel  for 
pathos  and  efifect  upon  the  heart,  save  in  the  case  of  Him  who 
was  the  Author  and  Finisher  of  their  faith.  The  "  Seven,"  tor- 
tured and  slaughtered,  one  by  one,  before  the  eyes  of  her  who 
bore  them  and  nursed  them  in  their  infancy,  died  zvith  her 
under  God's  covenant  of  everlasting  Itfc,  their  noble  mother 
cheering  and  sustaining  them  amid  their  agonies,  then  crown- 
ing the  aceldama  with  her  own  triumphant  death.  With  what 
calmness,  holy  resolution  and  courage  of  faith,  they  met  their 
fate!  "  Thou,  O  persecutor,  takest  us  out  of  this  present  life, 
but  the  King  of  the  Ages  wih  raise  us  up  to  life  everlasting  " — 
an  allusion  to  Dan.  xii:  i.  "  These  bodies,  this  corruptible,  we 
lay  down  for  the  sake  of  His  laws,  hoping  to  receive  them 
again."  This  they  knew,  that  "  God  will  restore  to  His  saints 
their  bodies  when  He  shall  raise  to  life  the  dead  men  of  this 
nation,  even  the  slain  of  His  people  " — an  allusion  to  Isa.  xxvi: 
19.  Sublime  in  moral  heroism  are  the  words  of  the  seventh 
son,  the  other  six  already  weltering  in  their  blood:  "  And  thou, 
O  godless  wretch,  of  all  men  most  abominable,  be  not  lifted 
up.  Our  brethren,  having  nozv  suffered  a  short  pain,  have  died 
under  the  covenant  of  everlasting  life,  but  thou  shalt  receive, 
through  the  judgment  of  God,  the  just  punishment  of  thy  pre- 
sumption." Already  the  fourth  son  had  as  calmly  and  solemn- 
ly spoken,  "  It  is  good  being  put  to  death  by  men,  to  look  for  hope 
from  God,  to  be  raised  again,  but,  for  thee,  there  shall  be  no  res- 
urrection to  eternal  life  " — an  allusion  to  Isa.  xxvi.  14.  Then, 
lastly,  the  immortal  mother  who,  in  the  ecstasy  of  immolation 
poured  forth  the  full  tide  of  her  unbosomed  love  and  faith,  and, 
slaughtered,  fell  on  sleep  to  wake  with  her  sons  in  the  resurrec- 
tion of  the  just.  "  Blessed  are  the  dead  who  die  in  the  Lord," 
Rev.  xiv:  13;  2  Mace,  vii:  1-12;  5  Mace,  i:  13.  Thus  did  the 
Old  Testament  saints  look  to  the  second  coming  of  Christ 


CHAPTERS  X-XII.— EASTERN  QUESTION.  165 

with  an  intensity  of  faith  and  ardor  of  expectation,  tliat  puts 
to  shame  the  attitude  of  the  Christian  church  to-day,  with 
reference  to  that  subhme  and  glorious  event. 

The  holy  Apostle  Paul  has  embalmed  the  memory  of  these 
martyrs  of  the  Law,  and  extolled  their  exploits  with  the  unc- 
tion of  his  inspiration.  His  heart  heaves  and  his  pen  burns  as 
he  presents  them  to  us  for  our  imitation,  crowned  by  the  exam- 
ple of  the  blessed  Jesus.  "  They  waxed  valiant  in  fight  and 
turned  to  flight  the  armies  of  the  aliens,"  as  did  Judas  Macca 
bjeus,  scattering  at  one  time  9,000  of  the  foe  with  only  i,50(i 
men,  at  another  110,000  with  only  8,000,  the  battle-cry  on  their 
lips,  "  God  our  HclpT  "  Victory  from  Jehovah!"  "  The  Kingdom 
Forever  f — proof  that  the  modern  maxim,  "  God  is  on  the  side 
of  the  strongest  battalions  "  is  a  lie!  "  Out  of  weakness  they 
were  made  strong."  "They  were  tortured,  not  accepting  deliv- 
erance (as  was  the  fact  with  the  mother  and  her  seven  sons) 
that  they  migJit  obtain  a  better  resurrection  T  Others  had  trial  of 
cruel  mockings,  yea,  moreover,  of  bonds  and  imprisonments. 
They  were  stoned,  they  were  sawn  asunder,  they  were  slain 
with  the  sword.  They  wandered  about  in  sheep-skins  and 
goat-skins,  being  destitute,  afflicted,  tormented,  of  zvhom  the 
zvorld  zvas  not  ivorthy!  They  wandered  in  deserts  and  in  moun- 
tains, and  in  dens  and  caves  of  the  earth!  And  all  these" — the 
Old  Testament  heroes  of  the  faith — "  having  obtained  a  good 
report  through  faith,  received  not  the  promise  (of  life  ever- 
lasting, never  to  die),  God  having  provided  some  better  thing 
for  us  (even  Christ  at  both  His  comings)  that  tJicy,  zuithout  us, 
should  not  be  made  perfect  "  Heb.  xi:  34-40. 

These  glorious  martyrs  of  the  Law  at  the  close  of  the  3d 
prophetic  empire — twice  immortalized  in  the  Scriptures — the 
prophet  Daniel  teaches  us  are  the  fore-runners  of  martyrs  yet 
to  be,  at  the  close  of  the  4th  empire,  under  the  last  Antichrist, 
Dan.  vii:  25;  ix:  27;  xii:  i.  7.  The  apostle  Paul  set  them  be- 
fore the  New  Testament  saints  as  examples  to  inspire  their 
courage  and  lead  to  imitation  of  their  fortitude — "  a  cloud  of 
witnesses,"  then  beholding  and  now  beholding  our  warfare 


1 66  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

and  our  race.  He  adds  to  them  "  Jesus,"  the  Christian  proto- 
martyr,  the  Author  and  Finisher  of  the  "  faith  "  by  which 
those  heroes  obtained  a  good  report. 

By  such  examples  and  the  love  of  Christ,  that  "  cloud  "  has 
been  expanded  to  20,000,000  martyrs  more  in  New  Testa- 
ment times,  the  latest  the  brave  Armenians  who  were  "  slain 
with  the  svvord  "  rather  than  abjure  their  faith  and  accept  the 
creed  of  Islam.  The  holy  John  assures  us  that  the  early  Chris- 
tian martyrs,  also,  were  the  forerunners  of  martyrs  yet  to  be  in 
the  Time  of  the  End,  who  will  cheerfully  drink — as  did  they — 
the  Cup  the  Saviour  drank,  and  be  baptised  with  the  baptism 
He  was  baptised  with.  And  foremost  shall  be  their  glory,  as 
foremost  was  their  suffering.  In  that  galaxy  of  saints  shine  a 
Stephen,  Peter,  Paul  and  James;  a  Polycarp,  Ignatius,  Irenaeus 
and  Justin;  a  Wickliffe,  Huss  and  Jerome  of  Prague;  a  Wish- 
art  and  Hamilton;  a  Rogers,  Cranmer,  Latimer,  Ridley  and 
holy  Bradford;  with  millions  more,  the  victims  of  Antiochus, 
of  Nero,  of  Torquemada,  the  Duke  of  Alva,  Claverhouse  and 
"  Abdul  the  Damned  " — a  happy  fellowship,  whose  effulgence 
in  the  resurrection  shall  correspond  to  the  suffering  by  which 
they  testified  their  loyalty  and  love.  To  comfort  such,  in  view 
of  the  tribulation  to  come  upon  them,  every  apocalypse  in 
both  Testaments  was  given,  without  exception.  To  be  among 
that  blessed  company,  Paul  desired  that  literally  he  might 
"  be  made  conformed  to  the  death  of  Christ,  if  by  any  means  he 
might  attain  to  the  resurrection  out  from  among  the  dead  " 
Phil,  iii:  10,  11,  and  nobly  won  his  desire.  2  Tim.  iv:  6.  Of 
such,  with  special  emphasis — sharers  with  the  Maccabaean  he- 
roes— the  Holy  Spirit  has  said  "  the  world  was  not  worthy  " — 
peerless  souls  whom  God  Himself  has  "  counted  worthy  of  the 
Kingdom  of  God,"  Heb.  xi:  38;  II.  Thess.  i:  5;  while  the 
"  timid  and  unbelieving,"  who  "  love  their  lives  "  and  seek  to 
"  save  "  them,  shall  "  lose  "  them  and  have  their  portion  among 
"  them  that  are  without,"  Rev.  xxi:  8;  xii:  11. 


I  saw,  far  down  he  coming  time, 

The  tiery  chastisement  of  crime. 

With  noise  of  mingling  hosts,  and  jar 

Of  falHng  towers  and  shouts  of  war; 

I  saw  the  nations  rise  and  fall 

Like  fire-gleams  on  the  whitened  wall; 

I  saw  them  draw  the  stormy  hem 

Of  battle  'round  Jerusalem. 

Who  trembled  a  my  warning  word? 

Who  owned  the  prophet  of  the  Lord? 

O  prophet  of  the  beating  heart. 
For  God's  great  purpose  set  apart. 
Before  whose  far-discerning  eyes 
The  future  as  the  present  lies. 
Beyond  a  narrow-minded  age 
Stretches  thy  prophet's  heritage; 
Through  heaven's  dim  spaces,  angel-trod, 
Through  arches  'round  the  throne  of  God! 
Thy  audience,  worlds! — all  time  to  be 
The  witness  of  the  Truth  in  thee! 

— Whittier. 

(.68) 


CnAPTER    IX. 

DANIEL,  CHAPTERS  X-XIL-TSABA  GADOL.  WAR- 
FARE GREAT.  TYPE  AND  ANTITYPE.  EAST- 
ERN QUESTION. 

The  previous  article  dealt  with  the  angel's  words,  concern- 
ing the  "Warfare  Great,"  as  far  as  to  the  Maccabean  period, 
viz.,  to  xi:  35.  The  present  deals  with  the  remainder  of  xi. 
in  connection  with  xii.    The  first  thing  here  is 

THE   TRANSITION-SECTION. 

V.  Verses  xi:  36-39.  The  death  of  Epiphanes  is  not  recit- 
ed at  the  dose  of  xi:  30-35,  B.  C.  164,  as  it  was  given 
already  in  viii:  25,  in  the  words  "he  shall  be  broken  without 
hand."  The  silence  is  doubtless  due  to  the  fact  that  type  and 
antitype  are  blended  in  "the  King,"  xi:  36,  continuing  together 
through  the  section,  until  the  one  is  displaced  by  the  other 
at  xii:  40.  The  exit  of  "the  King,"  the  Antichrist,  is  ex- 
pressed in  the  words  "he  shall  come  to  his  end  and  none  shall 
help  him,"  xi:  45.  "His  end"  here,  is  "his  end"  in  ix:  26,  i.e., 
the  end  of  the  "prince  that  shall  come." 

The  vital  question  that  decides  the  division  of  the  chapter 
from  xi:  21,  onward  to  the  end,  is  how  much  refers  to  Anti- 
ochus,  and  how  much  to  the  Antichrist?  We  encounter  it  at 
verses  21,  36,  and  40.  It  is  (i)  whether  from  21  to  the  end  of 
the  chapter,  all  relates  to  Antiochus;  or  (2)  all  to  the  last  Anti- 
christ; or  (3)  all  to  both;  or  (4)  whether  21-35  relates  to  Antio- 
chus alone,  and  36-45  to  the  Antichrist  alone;  or  (5)  whether 
40-45  relates  to  the  Antichrist  alone.  These  views  exhaust 
the  history  of  the  interpretation.  The  first  was  held  by  Por- 
phyry in  ancient  times,— and  is  held  by  the  higher  critics. 
The  second  was  held  by  Jerome  and  some  of  the  church  fath- 

(169) 


lyo 


DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 


ers,  the  Interval  between  Seleucus  I\\.  xi:  20,  and  the  Anti- 
christ being  placed  between  20  and  21.  The  third  view  w^as 
next  held  by  Jerome  also,  Theodoret  and  others,  two  senses, 
the  literal  and  typical  allowed  in  order  to  include  both  Epiph- 
anes  and  the  Antichrist.  Only  in  this  sense  was  it  that  Jerome 
asked  "Suppose  these  things  arc  said  of  Antiochus,  what  harm 
comes  to  our  religion?"  The  fourth  view,  viz.,  partly  to 
Epiphanes,  21-35,  ^""^^  partly  to  the  Antichrist,  36-45,  was 
that  of  the  learned  Jews  of  Jerome's  time,  and  which  he  himself 
was  inclined  to  adopt.  The  fifth,  viz.,  only  40-45  relates  to  the 
Antichrist,  arose  after  the  rise  of  Alohammed,  and  is  adopted 
by  some  Romanists,  some  Protestants,  and  some  of  the  Greek 
church.  It  regards  ^^lohammed  in  the  line  of  his  successors, 
as  the  Antichrist,  on  the  year-day  theory. 

As  to  the  first  view — all  to  Antiochus — it  is  excluded  by 
the  fact  that  nothing  in  the  career  of  Antiochus  corresponds 
to  this  campaign  of  40-45;  that  Porphyry's  assertion  to  the 
contrary  is  void  of  all  support;  that  the  fancy  that  the  three 
campaigns  of  Antiochus  against  Egypt,  and  the  tw'o  against 
Palestine,  in  23-35,  ^^^  here  "rccapitiilafccf'  is  absurd,  as 
Jerome  himself  discovered,  since  never  at  any  time  did  Antio- 
chus march  through  Palestine,  as  "the  King"  here  does  xi:  41, 
to  invade  Egypt,  but  only  entered  Palestine  on  his  "return" 
from  Egypt  to  Antioch,  xi:  28,  30, — besides  never  having  "the 
Lybians  and  Ethiopians  at  his  steps."  As  to  the  second  view, 
— all  to  the  Antichrist — it  is  excluded  by  this,  that  the  "\'ile 
Person,"  xi:  21,  is  the  immediate  successor  of  Seleucus  l\\ 
in  xi:  20  B.  C.  175.,  i.e.,  stands  up  "in  his  estate,"  therefore 
cannot  be  the  last  Antichrist  at  the  close  of  Gentile  times. 
There  is  no  interval,  therefore,  between  20  and  21.  As  to 
the  third  view — all  to  both — it  is  excluded  by  this,  that  the 
features  peculiar  to  the  Antichrist,  and  not  found  in  Antio- 
chus (and  such  are  admitted,  especially  his  self-exaltation 
"above  every  god.")  cannot  be  common  to  Both.  As  to  the 
fourth  view,  viz..  partly  to  Antiochus.  21-35,  ^"^  partly  to  the 
Antichrist,  39-45,  it  is  certain  (i)  that  the  term  "the  King"' 
is  here  first  used  absolutely,  apart  from  the  qualifying  adjunct, 


CHAPTERS  X-XI I. —WARFARE  GREAT.      ■  171 

"of  the  North,"  and  is  connected  immediately  with  a  descrip- 
tion of  absokite  atheism  in  its  extremest  form,  which  was  not 
true  of  Antiochus;  (2)  that,  in  verse  40,  the  pronoun  "/inn" 
in  the  clause  "push  at  him," — and  "///;n"  in  the  clause  "come 
against  him" — and  "/ir"  in  the  clause,  "he  shall  enter,"  all 
refer  to  "the  King"  in  36,  the  antitype  of  Antiochus,  as  do  all 
the  pronouns  "He,''  "His"  "Him,"  in  all  the  verses  following. 
Keil,  holding  the  common  view^  has  endeavored  to  dispute 
the  above,  but  unsucessfully  against  Klicfoth,  who  with 
others  has  victorously  defended  it;  (3)  that  the  "Warfare 
Great"  ends  onlv  with  the  final  deliverance  of  the  Jews  from 
the  grasp  of  "the  King"  in  36,  and  with  the  resurrection  of 
the  holy  dead,  xii:  i,  at  the  coming  of  the  Son  of  Man,  and 
the  King's  destruction,  vii:  13;  (4)  that  "the  Time  of  the  End" 
xi:  40,  is  identical  with  "at  that  time"  in  xii:  i,  and  therefore, 
"the  King"  in  36,  is  the  "Him,''  "He,"  "His"  in  40-45,  who  is 
destroyed  at  the  second  coming  of  Christ.  A  greater  than 
Antiochus  is  hcrc\  The  identity  of  this  blaspheming  atheist 
with  the  last  Antichrist  is  established  by  Paul,  2  Thess.  ii:  I- 
12,  and  by  John,  Rev.  xiii:  5-7,  incontrovertibly.  Therefore 
did  Hippolytus,  the  ablest  and  first  real  exegete  of  the  early 
church,  say:  "Here  is  the  Antichrist  in  xi:  36,  37."  So  did  the 
Jews  believe,  and  Jerome  say  of  thern,  "The  Jews  maintain 
that  the  things  here  spoken  relate  to  the  Antichrist,"  adding 
further,  "Our  writers  hold  that  the  things  here  predicted  re- 
late to  the  Antichrist, — which,  indeed,  we  also  understand  of 
the  Antichrist."  As  to  the  fifth  view  that  only  40-45  refers  to 
the  Antichrist,  it  is  excluded  by  the  above  considerations,  while 
yet  it  remains  true  that  40-45  refers  solely  to  him  and  not  to 
Antiochus. 

The  only  question,  therefore,  is  this,  viz.,  if  36-39  is  the 
transition-section,  including  a  double  personality,  type  and 
antitype  in  one  description,  where  is  the  Interval  between 
these  two  persons,  i.e.,  between  Antiochus  and  the  Antichrist. 
Is  it  between  35  and  36,  or  39  and  40?  The  answer  made 
by  the  most  patient  specialists,  and  supported  by  the  strong- 
est arguments  from  men  of  opposite  schools  is  for  example 


t72  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

that  "the  section,  xi:  40-45,  cannot  be  explained  of  Antiochus, 
in  any  way,  and  the  Interval  must  lie  between  verses  39  and 
40."  (Dornstetter.)  "The  transition  is  at  verse  36,  and  the  in- 
terval lies  between  39  and  40."  (Tiefenthal.)  Even  Cornill, 
like  Kuenen,  Hitzig,  Bevan.  Behrmann,  confesses  that  the  sec- 
tion cannot  be  referred  to  an}thing  known  in  the  history  of 
Antiochus.  "I  hold  such  an  explanation  to  be  impossible.  It 
is  excluded  b}'  the  structure  of  the  whole  chapter  which  gives 
a  clear  chronological  succession  of  campaigns  and  events  from 
Cyrus  to  Antiochus.  A  leap  backzcards  at  xi:  40,  in  order  to 
make  a  resume,  is  unknown  to  prophecy  and  inconceivable  at 
its  culminating  point.  The  words  'And  in  the  time  of  the 
End'  denote  progress  in  events,  not  regress  in  discourse,  and 
are  decisive  against  :t."  (Cornill.)  Xor,  again,  can  40-45  be  a 
fourth  campaign  of  Antiochus,  since  the  tyrant  was  expelled 
from  Egypt,  by  Roman  force,  B.  C.  168,  and  "ever  after,  Egypt 
was  under  Roman  protection"  (Welzhofer),  until  it  was  "deed- 
ed as  a  farm,  by  will,  to  the  Roman  people  and  in  vain  was 
sought  to  be  revived  to  Cleopatra  by  Caesar  and  Antony," 
(Alariette).  Aloreover,  the  battle  of  Pydna,  B.  C.  168,  shatter- 
ed forever  the  Syrian  power.  What  then?  Shall  we  say,  as  a 
last  resort  that  40-45  is  the  dream  of  a  Alaccabean  writer,  not 
yet  informed  of  the  death  of  Antiochus,  and  forecasting  an 
imaginary  future  for  him?  Porphyry  spurned  that  idea,  "Such 
exposition  is  the  last  resort  of  rationalistic  criticism."  (Wolf). 
"The  probability  of  a  resume  is  an  improbability,  the  dream 
of  a  possible  fourth  campaign  is  the  dream  of  an  impossibility, 
and  the  resort  to  an  imagination  of  a  Maccabean  Jew  is  only 
what  we  might  expect  from  a  criticism  which  itself  is  a  dream" 
(Herzfeld).  It  remains,  therefore,  that  40-45  is  a  true  predic- 
tion, and  that  the  interval  between  Antiochus  and  the  Anti- 
christ, lies  between  verses  39  and  40.  That  interval  stretches 
from  B.  C.  164  to  A.  D.  1898,  and  is  2,061  years,  or  237  years 
greater  than  the  interval  in  ix:  26,  between  A.  D.  70  and  1898; 
an  interval  of  i  ,827  years.  At  xi :  40,  we  take  farewell  of  Anti- 
ochus forever,  and  are  transported  into  the  "Time  of  the  End" 
of  our  present  age.     Here,  we  rest  with  confidence,  as  to  the 


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TYPE  AxND  ANTITYPE. 


1.  The  Double  Personality,  the  King.     Dan.  xi:  36 

2.  The  Transition-Section.     Dan.  ix:  36-39. 

3-  The  Great  Interval  Between.     Dan.  xi:  39,  40. 
4.  The  Time  of  the  End.     Dan.  xi:  40-45. 

(174) 


CHAPTERS  X-XIL— WARFARE  GREAT.  175 

interpretation.  Jerome's  words  are  conclusive  of  the  mature 
judgment  of  tlie  early  church.  "Our  writers  hold  that  the 
things  here  predicted  relate  to  the  Antichrist."  Fraidi's  words 
are  conclusive  as  to  the  judgment  of  the  :\Iiddle  Age,  "The 
judgment  of  antiquity  was  that  of  the  centuries  following." 
Diistcrwald's  words  are  conclusive  as  to  modern  times,  "All, 
save  the  rationalists,  hold  that  verses  40-45  pertain  to  the 
Antichrist."  As  to  the  contents  of  the  section  before  us,  we 
come,  now,  to  the 

PIIOTOGILVPH  OF  THE  ANTICHRIST. 

It  surpasses  that  of  Antichus  in  viii,  bad  as  that  is,  and 
transcends  all  historical  accounts  of  the  Syrian  tyrant.  The 
angel  paints  in  bold  relief  the  three  predominating  characteris- 
tics of  "the  King."  (i)  His  atheistic  self-deifving  egotism  and 
blaspheming  mouth.  Epiphanes,  indeed,  stood  up  against  the 
"Prince  of  princes,"  Israel's  Jehovah,  and  opposed  him,  viii: 
25,  but  it  is  not  said  that  he  exalted  himself  "above  every  god," 
or  blasphemed  the  "God  of  gods,"  and  refused  to  "regard  any 
god,"  as  is  said  of  "the  King,"  in  xi:  36,  37.  Here  is  an 
atheism  so  absolute  as  to  smite  every  Pantheon  in  antiquity. 
every  ethnic  god,  as  well  as  Jehovah.  Epiphanes,  however, 
was  not  "AtJicoi'  in  an  ethnic  sense.  "TJicos'^  belonged  as  a 
title  to  his  line,  as  "Dkiis"  did  to  the  Csesars.  He  worship- 
ped Olympian.  Zeus,  set  up  his  statue  in  Jerusalem,  made 
presents  to  the  god  of  Tyre,  and  created  a  temple  in  Antioch 
to  Capitoline  Jove,  well  known  to  his  fathers.  Livy  de- 
scribes him  as  diligent  "In  deorum  cultu."  His  ambition 
was  to  root  out  Judaism  and  instal  the  Greek  Pantheon  in  its 
place,  and  everywhere.  \'ery  differently  "the  King,"  in  36, 
exalts  himself  "above  every  god,"  reckless  of  "any  god,"  and 
with  eruptive  mouth,  face  skyward,  explodes  his  blasphemies 
against  the  "God  of  gods,"  the  only  true  God.  He  speaks 
marvelous  things  against  the  "God  of  gods."  This,  to  the  life, 
is  the  "Little  Horn"  in  vii:  11,  25,  who  "speaks  great  words 
against  the  Most  High."  He  is  Paul's  "Man  of  Sin,"  2  Thess. 
ii:  4,  "who  exalteth  himself  above  all  that  is  called  God,  or  is 
worshipped,"  and  will  sit  in  the  temple  of  God,  showing  him- 


1^6  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

self  that  he  is  God,"  a  thing'  Epiphanes  did  not  do,  nor  any 
Caesar.  He  is  John's  personal  Beast  who  "has  a  mouth  speak- 
ing great  things  and  blasphemies,"  lifting  his  "mouth  in  blas- 
phemy against  God,  to  l)laspheme  His  name,  His  tabernacle, 
and  them  that  dwell  therein."  Rev.  xiii:  5,  C.  It  is  in  verses 
36.  2)7y  St  the  head  of  this  transition-section,  Paul  and  John 
both  find  the  final  "^lan  of  Sin,"  the  "Beast,"  "the  Antichrist,'' 
the  "Horn,"  in  Dan.  vii:  8.  (2)  His  imbruted  soul,  dehuman- 
ized and  dead  to  all  the  tenderest  affections  of  human  kind, 
disregarding  even  woman's  love, — "Jicindalh  JiasJiiui/'  (com- 
pare 2  Sam.  i:  26),  her  desire  of  husband,  home,  maternity,  the 
babe  on  her  breast,  her  children,  her  daughter's  sanctity,  the 
endearments  of  domestic  life,  and,  like  a  ^loslem  or  a  Mongol, 
a  Sultan  or  Khan,  devoting  all  to  outrage,  agony,  and  mas- 
sacre. It  is  not  a  Syrian  god  or  goddess  that  is  meant  by  the 
phrase  "love  of  women,"  nor  celibacy,  nor  illicit  love.  So  far 
from  this,  Antiochus  was  the  father  of  a  family,  left  his  son 
Antiochus  V.  as  his  successor  tO'  the  throne,  and  moreover, 
consorted  publicly  with  the  lewdest  characters:  Only  in  so 
far  as  his  debaucheries  were  a  disregard  of  woman's  purest 
love,  does  the  description  here  apply  to  him.  (3)  His  adoption 
of  a  new  god,  in  spite  of  his  atheism,  and  fdr  the  sake  of  his 
followers  as  a  stimulus  to  their  military  ardor,  and  a  means 
of  propagating  his  religion,  viz.,  "Allah  Maocii)},"  the  god  of 
fortresses,"  or  "sfroiigJiohls,"  placing  here  his  confidence, 
whether  in  the  strongholds  of  the  Orontes,  Nile,  Euphrates, 
Tigris,  or  Bosphorus, — in  Syria,  Egypt,  ^Macedonia,  or  Asia 
Minor, — (the  parted  empire  of  Alexander) — honoring  "Allah" 
with  "gold,  silver,  precious  stones,  and  costly  things, — a  god 
unknown  to  his  ancestors  and  whose  religion  he  would  propag- 
ate by  the  sword,  procuring  for  his  strongholds  garrisons  of 
people  who  acknowledged  his  strange  god,  increasing  them 
with  glory  while  putting  to  the  sword  all  others,  causing  them 
to  rule  over  the  many,  and  because  needing  money  for  war, 
dividing  the  land  he  conquers,  for  the  sake  of  gain."  This  the 
meaning  of  this  dif^cult  verse.  Such  the  three  great  charac- 
ters of  "the  King":    The  first  was  not  seen  in  Antiochus  to  the 


CHAPTERS  X-XIL— WARFARE  GREAT.  177 

extent  here  predicted.  The  second  was  seen,  in  his  butchery 
of  infants  in  Jerusalem,  his  treatment  of  the  Maccabean  mcther 
and  lier  sons,  and  his  inhuman  conduct  everywhere.  The 
third  was  seen  in  the  confidence  he  placed  in  fortresses,  and  in 
the  propagation  of  his  rehg-ion  by  the  sword.  But  yet,  the  full 
reality  of  all  awaits  the  future  and  the  final  Antichrist.  And, 
now,  overleaping  the  great  interval  between  verses  39  and  40, 
we  come  to  the  close  of  the  fourth  divided  empire,  and,  the 
antichrist's  last  campaign. 

VI.  Verses  xi:  40-45.  It  is  only  in  his  military  character 
the  Antich/ist  is  here  presented,  and  it  is  only  a  section  of  the 
world-wide  "Warfare  Great"  that  is  here  given;  that  which 
pertains  to  the  final  struggle  of  the  Jews  for  the  re-possession 
of  their  land,  and  their  final  deliverance  from  Gentile  power. 
The  time  is  called  the  "Time  of  the  End." 

In  whatever  sense  the  words  "at  that  time"  in  xii:  i,  are 
taken, — a  sense  determined  by  the  events  described  in  1-3, 
in  the  same  sense  the  "Time  of  the  End"  in  xi:  40-45  must  be 
taken,  because  the  "Time  of  the  End"  here,  is  "that  time" 
there.  The  two  are  chronologically  one,  and  the  events  of  xi: 
40-45  contemporate  with  those  in  xii:  1-3,  the  Deliverance  of 
Israel  and  the  resurrection  from  the  dead  directly  connected 
with  the  destruction  of  "the  King,"  xi:  45.  No  interval  exists 
between  xi:  45,  and  xii:  i.  The  "Time  of  the  End"  here,  is  not 
the  "Time  of  the  End"  in  xi:  35.  and  viii:  25,  viz., 
that  of  the  third  empire,  the  Greek,  but  is  clearly  that  of 
the  fourth  in  its  ten  kingdomed  state,  the  Roman.  Nor  is 
the  expression  "the  Time  of  the  End"  the  same  as  the  "End  of 
Time."  It  does  not  denote  the  end  of  history,  nor  of  the  planet, 
nor  of  nations,  but  the  end  of  our  present  age.  the  70th  week 
itself  in  ix:  27,  the  last  half  of  which  is  seen  in  vii:  25,  and  xii: 
7.  It  is  the  time  when  the  Antichrist  will  make  a  "covenant," 
or  "treaty,"  with  the  Jews,  granting  them  a  modus  z'izrndi,  in 
their  own  land,  with  civil  rights,  and  permission  to  revive 
their  ancient  worship,  then  suddenly  soon  after  because  of 
some  important  event  in  their  history  which  threatens  his  own 
empire,  perhaps  their  efifort  to  gain  their  independence,  or  the 


1 78  DANIELS  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

conversion  of  the  remnant,  violate  his  "covenant,"  ix:  27,  and 
"on  wing  of  abomination,"  become  their  bitterest  enemy,  seek- 
ing their  extirpation.  By  such  means  he  accelerates  his  own 
destruction.  Coincident  with  his  last  campaign  is  the  first 
campaign  of  "Gog  and  Magog,"  led  by  the  "Prince  of  Rosh, 
Meshech,  and  Tubal,"'  and  connected  with  the  defeat  of  both 
(^og  and  the  Antichrist,  and  with  the  restoration  of  Israel. 
Ezek.  xxxviii:  1-23;  xxxix:  1-29;  xxxvii:  1-28. 

The  "Time  of  the  End"  is  of  the  intensest  interest,  as  it 
brings  the  end  of  the  "Warfare  Great,"  with  the  momentous 
events  that  follow.  The  angel  predicts  that,  of  all  the  "Pow- 
ers" then  in  the  field,  three  shall  be  prominent,  (i)  the  "King 
of  he  South,"  who  is  not  Ptolemy  Philometor,  but  the  power 
holding  Egypt,  the  horizon  of  the  South  in  the  last  days  ex- 
tending to  the  Nile-sources,  as  in  Isa.  xviii,  and  Zephaniah 
iii;  (2)  the  "King  of  the  North,"  who  is  not  Antiochus  Epiph- 
anes,  but  the  power  ruling  the  North,  the  horizon  extending 
beyond  the  Caucasus,  as  in  Ezek.  xxxviii;  the  East  reaching 
beyond  the  Euphrates,  as  in  Revelation  xvi,  the  West  beyond 
the  Mediterranean,  again  as  in  Ezek.  xxxviii;  (3)  "The  King" 
(jf  xi:  36,  the  antitype  of  Antiochus,  viz.,  the  Antichrist;  that  in 
"the  Time  of  the  End,"  the  power  ruling  the  South,  shall 
"push"  at  "the  King"  of  xi:  36,  that  is,  cross  swords  with  him, 
(compare  viii:  4,  6),  and  open  the  great  campaign;  that  the 
power  ruling  the  North, — mighty,  abundant  in  horses,  wheel- 
ed armament,  and  ships,  a  great  naval  and  military  power, 
strong  in  cavalry, — shall  come  cycloning  "against  him,"  the 
same  "King"  of  xi:  36:  that,  notwithstanding  these  demon- 
strations, "the  King"  will  moijilize  his  forces,  "enter  into  the 
countries"  round  about,  "overflow"  them  with  his  troops,  and 
"pass  over"  into  Palestine  "the  glorious  land,"  and  that 
"myriads  shall  be  overthrown"  (see  xi:  12);  in  short,  that  en- 
tering Palestine  from  the  north,  his  line  of  march  will  be  south- 
ward through  Palestine,  subjecting  the  insurrectionary  Jews, 
many  here  as  elsewhere  being  "overthrown";  that,  neverthe- 
less, the  transjordanic  regions  occupied  by  Israel  when  they 
first  entered  the  IIolv  Land,  viz.,  Edom,  Moab,  and  the  chief 


CHAPTERS  X-XlI.—irARfAKE  GREAT.  179 

city  of  Amnion,  "sJiall  be  delivered  out  of  his  haiids,'" — lands 
called  by  Isaiah  "the  shoulders  (i.e.,  mountains)  of  the  Philis- 
tines," occupied  in  this  crisis  by  returning  Israel,  (compare 
Isa.  xi:  11-16); — that,  notwithstanding  this,  "the  King"  shall 
enter  Egypt,  and  the  tribes  of  North  and  South  Africa  shall 
flock  to  his  standard,  and  "Egypt  shall  not  be  able  to  deliver  it- 
self J'  and  that  the  treasures  of  Egypt  shall  be  at  the  King's 
command.  This,  the  first  result  to  the  power  holding  Egypt, 
for  "pushing"  at  the  King,  viz.,  its  temporary  loss,  xi:  41-43. 
The  whole  description  goes  to  show  that  the  final  contest  for 
the  repossession  of  the  Holy  Land,  by  the  ancient  people  of 
God,  has  come.  The  angel  further  predicts  that  "tidings  out  of 
the  East  and  out  of  the  North"  (East  and  North  of  Egypt)  will 
be  the  Nemesis  that  will  precipitate  the  doom  of  the  King, — 
rumors  of  insurrections  in  Palestine  and  further  East,  of  ris- 
ings in  the  North, — some  strategic  movement  also  in  the  East 
and  North  by  som :  military  power  advancing  on  Palestine, 
in  force,  compelling  him  to  go  forth,"  i.e.,  abandon  Egypt 
and  concentrate  his  strength  in  the  Holy  Land  as  his  last 
hope;  and  that  occupying  Jerusalem,  by  assault,  (Zech.  xiv: 
2),  he  will  plant  his  military  headquarters  on  Mount  IMoriah, 
"the  mountain  of  the  beauty  of  holiness,"  between  the  Medit- 
erranean and  Dead  seas,  and  there, — at  Jerusalem, — "come  to 
his  end,  with  none  to  help  him."  xi:  45.  Thus,  he  will  perish 
in  the  military  overflowing, — "in  the  flood"  ix:  26,  Isa.  lix: 
19, — struck  by  the  second  coming  of  Christ,  vii:  13,  25,  26, 
Isa.  xi:  4.     2  Thess.  ii:  8.     Rev.  xix:  11. 

Still  further,  the  angel  predicts  that,  "at  that  time,''  a  spec- 
tacle unparalleled  in  magnificence,  and  followed  by  events 
incomparable  in  importance  for  the  kingdom  of  God,  shall 
take  place;  that  the  "Warfare  Great"  shall  extend  itself  to 
the  unseen  world;  that  "Michael  the  great  prince  that  stand- 
eth  for  the  children  of  thy  people"  (Daniel's  people,  the  Jews), 
shall  "stand  over"  them,  and  there  shall  be  "War  in  HcavenJ' 
Rev.  xii:  7,  a  battle  of  battles  in  aerial  regions  between  the 
powers  of  light  and  darkness,  a  conflict  of  principalities  and 
powers  leagued  for   Israel's   destruction,   with   angelic   hosts 


i8o  DAXIEUS  CHEAT  rROl'JlECV. 

leagued  for  Israels  defense;  an  onset  by  "MicJiacl  and  his  an- 
gels," againt  the  ''Dragon  and  his  angels,"  a  warfare  against 
"the  hosts  of  the  high  ones  on  high,"  as  well  as  against  "the 
kings  of  the  earth  on  the  earth,"  Isa.  xxiv:  21;  heaven,  earth, 
sea,  dry  land,  all  nations,  shaken; — commotion  above,  com- 
motion below,  commotion  everywhere,  and  specially  in  Pales- 
tine. Elsewhere,  we  learn  that  Michael's  standing  "over"  the 
children  of  Israel,  is  at  the  middle  of  the  yoih  zceek,  the  time 
when  the  "Two  Witnesses"  are  slain,  Rev.  xi:  7,  and  the  con- 
version of  the  Jews  is  announced,  Rev.  xii:  10-12,  and  ^Michael 
is  victorious  over  Satan,  dejecting  him  from  aerial  regions 
to  the  earth.  Rev.  xii:  9.  Then  the  Great  Tribulation  begins. 
Rev.  xii:  12,  Matth.  xxiv:  22.  This  fixes  the  date  of  Michael's 
standing  as  the  date  when  the  Antichrist  is  forced  out  of 
Egypt,  a  part  of  the  alarming  "tidings"  being  that  many  Jews 
have  become  Christian,  a  rumor  that  excites  the  wrath  of  the 
Antichrist,  and  impels  him  to  "go  forth"  resolved  to  break 
his  "covenant"  with  all  Jews  and  "root  out  the  seed  of  Israel 
from  the  earth."  Then  he  will  war  not  only  with  the  sun-cloth- 
ed woman,  but  with  the  whole  body  of  believers  everywhere. 
The  angel  predicts  that  the  tribulation  will  continue  three 
and  a  half  years,  Dan.  xii:  7,  and  that,  at  the  close  of  this  period 
the  final  deliverance  of  the  Jews  shall  take  place,  the  resurrec- 
tion of  the  holy  dead  also,  and  the  destruction  of  the  Antichrist, 
xii:  13,  7.  These  events  so  stupendous  are  inseparable  from 
the  second  coming  of  Christ  to  close  the  "Warfare  Great"  and 
introduce  the  millennial  age.  That  will  be  a  time  which  who- 
ever lives  or  is  waked  from  his  grave  to  see,  is  a  "Blessed" 
man; — in  short,  the  time  when  the  "Kingdom"  of  Christ  is 
brought  to  victory  "underneath  all  heavens."    vii:  2'/. 

As  to  the  fulfillment  of  the  vision,  enough  has  been  said 
already,  to  show  its  impossibility  in  the  time  of  Antiochus. 
Up  to  1898,  all  the  i)rophecies  of  Daniel  save  the  remainder  of 
the  interval  from  1898  to  the  70th  week,  and  the  70th  week  it- 
self, have  met  their  literal  accomplishment  in  the  exactest  and 
minutest  manner.  This  alone,  awaits  the  future.  That  it  was  not 
fulfilled  in  the  siege  of  Jerusalem  by  Titus,  is  evident  from  this, 


CHAPTERS  X-XIL— WARFARE  GREAT.  i8i 

that  our  Lord  i)laces  the  great  tribulation  here  spoken  of,  Dan. 
xii:  I,  12,  in  the  future,  commencing  with  the  middle  of  the 
70th  week,  when  the  "abomination  of  desolation  stands  in  a 
holy  place,"  and  ending  with  His  coming  in  the  clouds  of 
heaven.  IMatth.  xxiv:  15-31,  Dan.  vii:  13.  The  whole  tenor 
of  Old  and  New  Testament  prophecy  seems  to  fix  the  time 
when  the  "Man  of  Sin"  will  "sit  in  the  temple  of  God,"  2 
Thess  ii:  4,  as  the  time  when  Satan  is  dejected  from  his  aerial 
sphere  by  ^Michael,  and  rumors  of  the  conversion  of  the  Jews 
reach  the  Antichrist  in  Egypt.  It  is  then  that  Satan  enters  him 
and  he  invades  Palestine  from  the  South.  Rev.  xi:7;  xii:  17; 
(compare  ix:  1-21).  It  is  then  that  in  his  madness,  he  slays  the 
"Two  Witnesses,"  seeks  to  root  out  Israel,  "sits  in  the  temple  of 
God,"  Rev.  xi:  I,  makes  war  with  the  saints  everywhere,  Jews 
or  Gentiles,  and  inaugurates  the  Tribulation.  Whatever  fore- 
lights  of  this  have  been  recognized  in  the  Saracenic  and  Turk- 
ish "Woes"  upon  apostatising  Christendom  in  the  Middle 
Age,  and  in  the  capture  of  Jerusalem  by  Caliph  Omar,  A.  D. 
637,  and  last  of  all,  by  the  Turk,  A.  D.  1187  and  1517,  it  is  still 
certain  that  the  campaign  of  the  last  Antichrist  lies  in  the 
future.  The  all-embracing  prophecy  includes  all,  and  ever- 
more the  last  is  the  highest,  most  exhaustive,  and  literal  ful- 
fillment: 

That  this  last  crisis  is  impending,  is  undeniable.  The  whole 
world  is  preparing  for  the  last  act  in  the  tragedy  of  the  "War- 
fare Great."  Christendom  is  already  one  vast  military  camp 
and  naval  depot.  The  son  of  Pethuel  is  again  on  his  watch- 
tower,  blowing  the  trumpet  in  Zion,  summoning  the  nations 
to  "conic  up"  to  Jerusalem,  and  the  Lord  and  His  mighty  an- 
gels to  "come  dozi'n"  from  heaven.  Joel,  iii:  9-16,  has  dram- 
atized the  scene  in  the  most  thrilling  manner, — the  scene  of  the 
advance  of  the  nations,  marching  to  the  "A^alley  of  Decision," 
where  the  "Eastern  Question"  will  be  "decided." 

THE   LORD. 

"Proclaim  ye  this  among  the  nations.  Prepare  war.  Wake 
up  the  mighty  men.  Let  all  the  men  of  war  draw  near.  Let 
them  come  up.     Haste  ye,  and  come,  all  ye  nations  round 


l82  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

about  and  assemble  yourselves  together."    This  the  summons. 

THE   PROniET. 

"Thither  cause  thy  mighty  ones  to  come  down,  O  Lord!" 
This  the  prayer. 

THE   LORD. 

"Let  the  nations  bestir  themselves,  and  come  up  to  the  Val- 
ley of  Jehoshaphat,  for  there  will  I  sit  to  judge  all  the  nations 
round  about."    This  the  locality. 

THE    LORD    TO    HIS    HOSTS. 

"Put  ye  in  the  sickle,  for  the  harvest  is  ripe.  Come;  tread 
ye;  for  the  wine-press  is  full,  the  vats  overflow,  for  their  wick- 
edness is  great."    This  the  order. 

THE   PROPHET   A    SPECTATOR. 

"Multitudes!  Multitudes!  in  the  A'allcy  of  Decision!  for 
the  Day  of  the  Lord  is  near  in  the  \'alley  of  Decision!  The 
sun  and  the  moon  are  darkened,  the  stars  withdraw  their  shin- 
ing. And  the  Lord  shall  roar  from  Zion,  and  utter  his  voice 
from  Jerusalem.  iVnd  the  heavens  and  the  earth  shall  shake; 
but  the  Lord  will  be  the  Hope  of  His  people,  and  a  stronghold 
to  the  children  of  Israel."    This  last  the  consolation. 

Such  the  solemn  scene,  where  the  Antichrist  is  judged  and 
Gentile  politics  and  power  go  down  in  blackness  and  blood. 
The  same  scene  is  given  in  Isa.  lix:  19-21,  and  Ixvi:  5-16;  in 
Dan.  vii:  9-14;  in  Zcph.  iii:  8-20;  in  Zech.  xii:  2-14;  xiii:  i; 
in  xiv:  i-ii.  It  is  given  in  ]\Iatth.  xxv:  31-46.  It  is  the  scene 
of  the  sickle-judgment,  and  the  winepress  with  "blood  up  to 
the  horses'  bridles"  in  Rev.  xiv:  12-20,  and  of  "Heaven  Open- 
ed" for  the  Antichrist's  destruction,  in  Rev.  xix:  11-21.  It 
follows  the  Armageddon  rendezvous  in  Rev.  xvi:  12-16.  and 
is  the  end  of  the  "Warfare  Great"  when  the  Son  of  Man 
comes  to  "take  away  the  Sultanate"  of  the  Horn,  and  "con- 
sume and  destroy  it  to  the  end."  Dan.  vii:  26.  All  the  projih- 
ets,  Christ  and  His  apostles,  have  looked  to  this  "End"  of  our 
age. 

And  the  nations  arc  "preparing."     History  is  the  after- 


CHAPTERS  X-XIL— WARFARE  GREAT.  183 

clap  of  which  prophecy  is  the  fore-stroke;  the  echo  of  which 
prophecy  is  the  voice.  The  growth  of  modern  armies  and  the 
nian-kilhng  power  of  their  weapons,  the  destructive  enginery 
of  modern  warfare  by  land  and  sea,  during  the  last  twenty- 
five  years  is  appalling.  The  augmented  war-material,  and  arr^» 
ies  swollen  beyond  all  precedent,  in  times  of  peace,  are  the 
omen  of  disaster  to  the  world.  They  are  the  presage  of  the 
judgment  day  on  all  nations,  no  arbitration  can  arbitrate  away. 
The  guilt  of  Christendom  must  meet  its  punishment.  The 
condemnation  of  the  "Christian  Nations"  is  their  military 
strength.  The  peace-footing  of  Italy,  to-day,  is  1.473,000  men 
of  all  arms;  of  Austria,  2,076,000;  of  Germany,  4,300,000;  of 
France,  4,300,000;  of  Russia,  4,800,000; — not  to  mention  Great 
Britain,  Turkey  in  Europe,  Denmark,  Sweden,  Norway,  Bel- 
gium, Spain,  Portugal,  and  the  millions  in  Asia  and  Africa, 
nor  to  think  of  the  enormous  naval  strength  of  the  world. 
Omit  the  whole,  save  the  militar}-  force  of  the  "Five  Powers" 
on  the  continent  of  Europe  including  Russia,  and  the  peace- 
footing  for  .\.  D.  1897,  is  16,049,000  armed  men.  The  "■zc'or- 
footiiig"  according  to  the  same  budgets,  for  i897-'98,  is  Italy 
2,200,000;  Austria,  2,518.000;  Germany,  7,200.000;  France,  4,- 
700,000;  Russia's  "prospective  army,"  12,000.000, — a  total  of 
28,618,000  men  within  the  limits  of  these  "Five  Powers" — pow- 
erless to  compel  the  Turk  or  each  other  to  justice  or  human- 
ity. The  causes  of  this  vast  "military  Christendom  of  the 
Nineteenth  Century"  are  familiar  to  all;  the  advance  of 
science  in  destructive  agencies,  mutual  distrust  of  the  nations, 
their  rivalries  and  jealousies,  treachery  and  breach  of  treaties, 
balance  of  power,  the  peace  of  Europe,  enormous  increase  of 
wealth,  expansion  of  commerce,  the  fact  that  resistless  powerl 
knows  no  moral  law,  the  ambition  of  Europe  to  divide  the  non- 
Christian  nations,  partition  Asia  and  Africa,  and  control  the 
mines  and  markets  of  the  world,  lust  for  supremacy,  want  of 
righteousness,  the  discontent  of  the  masses,  the  increase  of  un- 
belief and  crime,  and  the  corruption  of  Gentile  politics  and 
power.  Add  to  those  the  apprehension  of  a  collision  between 
the  East  and  West,  and  the  coming  struggle  with  Islam,  Jud- 


l84  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

iasm,  and  each  other.  The  prehide  to  that  will  he  th^  ap- 
parent harmony  of  the  'Towers"  of  the  world  for  a  period  of 
time, — the  "silence  for  the  space  of  half  an  hour,  in  heaven," 
the  "four  angels  holding  back  the  winds,"  the  solemn  hush 
when  the  air  is  breathless  and  the  leaves  are  motionless;  then 
the  thunder-burst  of  Judgment!  At  such  a  time,  Israel's  claims 
wull  come  up  for  settlement  such  as  Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa 
cannot  make. 

Prepare  war!  Come  up  to  the  Valley  of  Decision!  It  is 
the  "Eastern  Question."  It  was  the  burning  question  w'hen 
Joel  spoke,  900  B.  C.  the  burning  question  now,  and  now  as 
then  the  nations  are  waiting  the  order  to  march!  It  is  an  old 
question.  Its  antiquity  remounts  beyond  the  days  of  Chedor- 
laomer  and  Abraham.  It  existed  before  Russia,  England, 
France,  or  Turkey  was  born — before  ever  Constantinople, 
Rome,  Alexandria,  or  London,  had  a  name.  It  means  the  con- 
flict of  civilizations, — a  conflict  governed  by  "the  ever-recur- 
ring law  of  history,"  viz.,  invasion  at  stated  intervals,  from 
East  to  West,  and  reversely  from  West  to  East;  from  North 
to  South,  and  reversely,  till  at  last  the  whole  world  is  involv- 
ed. It  was  the  question  that  sank  the  Persian  empire  and 
brought  to  Greece  her  national  existence  and  her  glory: — the 
question  on  which  a  Pericles  and  Demosthenes  exhausted 
their  oratory,  and  where  a  Cicero  stood  in  the  majesty  of  elo- 
quence, a  Caesar  in  the  splendor  of  arms, — the  question  for 
Antiochus  Epiphanes, — the  Huns  and  the  Mongols,  the 
Tartars, — Islam! — in  every  case  the  "Holy  Land"  its  centre. 
The  middle  age  saw  all  Europe  precipitate  itself  on  Palestine, 
only  to  be  hurled  back  by  the  Moslem,  after  300  years  of  war. 
Turn  whatever  way,  it  is  identified  with  the  fortunes  of  the 
Jew.  Deeper  and  broader  interests  than  those  of  England, 
France,  Russia.  Austria,  Germany,  Greece.  Turkey.  India, 
China,  and  Japan  in  the  oceans,  seas,  waterways,  markets  and 
mines  of  the  world,  are  involved; — the  interests  of  Israel  and 
of  the  kingdom  of  God.  The  cry  of  the  muezzin  sounds  daily 
over  two  cities  of  universal  fame, — Jerusalem  and  Constanti- 
nople,— where  once  the  Religion  of  Jehovah  and  the  Religion 


CHAPTERS  X-XIL— WARFARE  GREAT.  185 

of  Christ  ruled  supreme,  and  the  Imaum's  prayer  to  Allah 
ever  ascends,  "O  Allah,  destroy  the  infidels,  defile  their  abodes, 
and  give  their  women,  children,  friends  and  wealth  as  booty  to 
the  Moslem!" — all  this  with  the  "consent"  and  "concert"  of  the 
so-called  "Christian  Powers!"  How  can  the  "kingdom"  come 
apart  from  a  judgment  day  and  the  decision  of  the  "Eastern 
Question?"  That  gifted  historian,  J.  von  Mueller,  has  not  said 
in  vain,  "No  thoughtful  man  can  read  history,  or  look  upcn 
the  face  of  Christendom,  and  not  be  impressed  with  the  ccii- 
viction  that  the  same  law  of  righteousness  that  brought  the 
ancient  empires  to  their  end,  must  prevail  at  last  against  the 
empires  and  kingdoms  now  existing."  Nemesis  must  come. 
And  say  what  men  may,  the  battle  opens  in  the  same  old 
centre,  the  Aegean  Sea,  and  the  relation  of  the  Holy  Land 
and  Israel,  geographically  and  politically,  as  well  as  relig- 
iously, must  assert  itself,  as  before,  the  more  the  "Warfare 
Great  approaches  its  end.  Nor  is  there  anything  in  interna- 
tional politics  anywhere  that  does  not  lead  to  this  centre,  even 
as  the  Roman  roads  all  led  to  the  Golden  MilestO'ne  of  the 
Forum. 

It  is  not  for  nothing  that  the  histories  of  the  "Seven  Great 
Monarchies"  and  the  hundred  histories  of  the  "People  Israel," 
and  of  the  "Religion  of  Israel,"  and  the  "Explorations  in  Pal- 
estine," have  been  written  in  these  last  days,  and  the  schol- 
arship of  modern  times  been  called  to  exert  itself  in  Old 
Testament  studies  as  never  before.  The  "Future"  has  become 
a  theme  of  exciting  interest.  What  means  the  unexampled 
interest,  to-day,  in  the  "]\Iaps  and  Survey  of  Palestine,"  in  such 
books  as  "The  Recovery  of  Jerusalem,"  the  "History  of  Jer- 
usalem," "Palestine  under  the  Moslems,"  "The  City  and  the 
Land,"  "Judas  Maccabseus  and  the  War  for  Independence," 
"The  Latin  kingdom  of  Jerusalem,"  all  by  the  first  scholars 
of  our  generation?  And  what  the  reversal  of  the  English  pol- 
icy towards  Turkey,  and  of  the  Russian  also,  each  occupying 
the  place  the  other  did,  five  years  ago?  \Miat  the  scenes  in 
Mediterranean  waters,  the  unparalleled  growth  of  the  Zionist 
movement,  the  lectures  in  European  Universities  on  the  "Jew- 


l86  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

ish  Problem,"  the  "Societies"  among  Christian  peoples  for  the 
conversion  of  the  Jews;  the  absolute  control  of  the  finances 
of  the  nations,  by  the  Jews,  and  their  influence  over 
science,  literature,  journalism,  the  seats  of  instruction,  and  the 
international  politics  of  the  Old  World?  And  what  the  threat- 
ening attitude  of  the  East  and  West,  the  South  and  North, 
and  the  alliances  of  the  "Powers?" 

It  is  with  some  providential  intent  the  labors  of  a  Curtius 
and  Grote,  a  Stanley  and  Rawlinson,  a  Mueller  and  Weltz- 
hofer,  a  Meyer  and  Brandis,  have  drawn  attention  to  the  "laws 
of  historical  development,"  and  shown  how  the  destiny  of  the 
Jew's  affects  the  destiny  of  all  nations,  and  that  "in  the  near 
future,  the  world  may  expect  to  see  the  operation  of  the  law, 
more  powerfully  than  ever."  The  "Powers"  will  not  be  allow- 
ed of  God  to  continue  their  concert  of  crime  perpetually,  for 
their  own  benefit,  and  the  hindrance  of  the  kingdom  of  God. 
The  rivalries  of  the  Greek  states,  after  Alexander's  death,  left 
the  Eastern  Question  unsettled  for  many  generations,  Pales- 
tine passing  from  one  powder  to  another.  After  the  "push" 
of  Europe  against  the  Moslem,  Jerusalem,  regained,  was  lost 
by  the  rivalries  of  Kings,  Dukes,  and  Barons,  unworthy  of 
the  valor  of  a  Tancred  and  Godfrey.  After  the  defeat  of  the 
Turk  before  the  walls  of  Vienna,  again  the  rivalries  of  Europ- 
ean sovereigns  left  the  question  unsettled,  remaining  so  to  this 
day.  Doubtless,  God's  hand  was  in  this,  as  well  as  Satan's 
and  the  hand  of  man,  for  the  "End  zvos  not  yet."  More  de- 
velopment, more  missionary  work,  more  preparation  for  the 
solution  of  so  vast  a  problem,  were  rec|uircd: — more  atrocity 
in  demonstration  of  the  unchanged  selfishness  of  the  "Pow- 
ers," more  ripening  in  sin  and  disregard  of  moral  righteous- 
ness. But  now,  "the  time  appointed"  plumes  its  wings.  The 
power  holding  Palestine  must  prepare  for  the  power  ruling  the 
South  to  "push  at  him,"  and  the  i:)ower  of  the  North  to  "come 
against  him,"  and  both  for  the  holder  of  Palestine  to  resist 
them,  and  all  mankind  for  "the  Kings  from  the  East,  and  of 
the  whole  world  (ihe  Roman)  to  gather  together  to  a  place 
called  in  the  Hebrew  tongue  Armageddon  (Ilar-Magedon)." 


CHAPTERS  X-XIl.— WARFARE  GREAT.  187 

Rev.  xvi:  12-16.  Zech.  xii:  11.  That  conflict  will  decide  all 
questions  forever;  and  Israel  redeemed,  delivered  and  re- 
established in  their  own  land,  as  the  first  "Righteous  Nation" 
on  earth,  Isa.  xxvi:  1-24;  Rev.  xv:  3-8;  will  be  the  solution 
long--desired;— the  end  of  the  "Warfare  Great"; — the  bond 
and  union-point  of  international  amity,  peace,  and  righteous- 
ness— all  peoples  one  people,  all  nations  one  nation,  all  gov- 
ernments one  government,  all  religions  one  religion,  and 
"War  no  morcf  The  nations  will  have  had  experience  enough 
of  this!  Then  Jesus  Christ  will  be  recognized  as  the  "Only 
Potentate."  "The  King  of  Kings  and  Lord  of  Lords."  Zech. 
xiv:  9.  Rev.  xi:  15.  And  the  terrible,  yet  immortal  battle- 
field on  which  that  issue  will  be  decided,  and  that  result  achiev- 
ed, will  be  the  Reservation  the  ]\Iost  High  chose  as  His  own 
■^l;ien — long  before  Abraham  was, — He  divided  to  the  nations 
their  inheritance,  and  limited  the  boundaries  of  the  peoples 
relatively  to  the  land  appointed  for  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel. 
Deut.  xxxii:  8.  Such,  the  importance  of  Palestine,  the  Jew, 
and  the  "Warfare  Great,"  for  the  triumph  of  the  kingdom  of 
God.  From  that  early  moment  the  "Eastern  Question"  be- 
came a  necessity.     Its  solution  is  before  us. 


"  Then  shall  be  great  tribulation,  such  as  was  not  since  the  begin- 
ning of  the  world  to  this  time,  no,  nor  ever  shall  be.  And,  except 
those  days  should  be  shortened,  no  flesh  should  be  saved;  but,  for 
the  elect's  sake,  those  days  shall  be  shortened."     ISIatt.  xxiv:  21,  22. 

"  Then  shall  the  righteous  shine  forth  as  the  sun  in  the  kingdom 
of  their  Father;  who  hath  ears  to  hear,  let  him  hear."     IMatt.  xiii:  43. 

"  Beloved,  think  it  not  strange  concerning  the  fiery  trial  that  is  to 
try  you,  as  though  some  strange  think  happened  unto  you.  But  re- 
joice, inasmuch  as  ye  are  partakers  of  Christ's  sufferings,  that  when 
His  glory  is  revealed,  ye  may  be  glad  with  exceeding  joy."  i  Pet.  iv: 
12,  13;    i:  7. 

"When  the  Lord  shall  build  up  Zion,  He  shall  appear  in  His  glory." 
Ps.  cii:  16.     "Appear  to  your  joy."     Isa.  Ixvi:  5. 
"Thy  Word  is  Truth," 
John  xvii;  17. 


(1S8) 


Chapter  X. 

DANIEL,  CHAPTERS  X-XIL— END  OF  THE  WAR- 
FARE GREAT.  THE  GREAT  TRIBULATION. 
RESURRECTION.     DELIVERANCE. 

The  chapter  falls  into  three  divisions:  (i)  the  Conclusion 
of  the  prophesy,  xii:  1-3;  (2)  The  Completion  of  the  Book  of 
Daniel,  xii:  4;  (3)  the  Epilogue  or  closing  Vision,  xii:  5-13. 

(i)  The  Conclusion  of  the  Prophecy,  xii:  1-3.  These  verses 
disclose  in  what  way  the  constancy  and  faith  of  God's  people 
will  be  tried  in  the  final  crisis,  by  what  means  the  Lord  will 
separate  converted  Israel  from  their  apostate  brethren,  Isa. 
Ixvi:  5,  and  how  he  will  break  in  pieces  the  oppressor  and 
redeem  from  deceit  and  violence  the  souls  of  the  poor  and 
needy,  Ps.  Ixxii:  4,  13,  14.  The  fate  of  Israel  and  the  world 
will  not  be  decided  by  the  diplomats  and  kings  of  Europe, 
Asia,  and  Africa,  nor  by  the  bankers  of  Antwerp,  Berlin,  Paris, 
London  or  Vienna,  but  by  the  hand  of  God.  The  doctrines 
of  the  "  Balance  of  Power,"  and  the  "  Sceptre  of  Alammon," 
will  perish  together.  It  will  be  decided  at  Jerusalem  by  the 
Coming  of  the  Son  of  Alan.  The  solution  of  what  is  called  the 
Eastern  Question  requires  a  higher  power  than  all  the  baffled 
sovereigns  of  the  world,  a  solution  only  possible  upon  the 
overthrow  of  all  the  Gentile  Powers  themselves,  of  the  corrupt 
forms  of  religion  by  which  they  are  supported,  of  antichristi- 
anity  everywhere,  and  of  Antichrist,  the  last  leader  of  Satan's 
kingdom  on  the  earth.  Whatever  power  the  Jews  may  have 
acquired  by  means  of  their  wealth,  influence  and  alliances, 
among  the  nations,  in  the  last  times,  or  in  Palestine,  will  be 
unavailing  here.  The  struggle  to  gain  their  independence 
while  in  their  unbelief  will  be  signally  defeated.     It  is  not  by 

(189) 


I  go  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

force  of  arms,  alliances  or  wealth  that  Israel  is  delivered,  but 
by  the  wonder-working  power  of  God,  when  their  own  power 
is  utterly  annihilated.  Deut.  xxxii:  36;  Dan.  xii:  7.  This  final 
act  in  behalf  of  the  faithful  is  connected  with  the  resurrection 
of  Israel's  holy  dead,  waked  from  their  graves  to  meet  and 
greet  the  delivered  ones,  and  to  shine  as  the  sun  and  the  stars 
in  the  Kingdom  of  God.    What  we  have  here  is 

(i)  The  Definition  of  the  "  Time  "  of  these  events.  It  is  "  at 
that  time,"  xi:  40,  when  the  Antichrist  camps  on  Mount  Mo- 
riah,  xi:  45,  hence  neither  in  the  times  of  Antiochus.  nor  of 
Titus,  since  it  is  immediately  followed  by  the  "  Great  Tribula- 
tion "  that  next  precedes  the  Second  Coming  of  Christ.  Dan. 
vii:  13,  25;  xii:  1-3,  7;  Matt,  xxiv:  15-29;  II.  Thess.  i:  6,  7; 
ii:  1-12;  Rev.  xiii:  5;  xix:  11-21 ;  xx:  1-6.  It  will  be  "  such  a 
time  as  never  was  "  prior  to  A.D.  33,  when  our  Lord  made  this 
statement,  therefore  not  in  the  times  of  Antiochus;  "no,  nor 
ever  shall  be  "  prior  to  the  days  immediately  before  His  Sec- 
ond Coming,  therefore  not  in  the  times  of  Titus.  The  char- 
acter of  the  time  is  faithfully  delineated  by  our  Lord  as  cor- 
responding to  Antediluvian  and  Sodomite  times.  "As  it  was 
in  the  days  of  Xoah,"  and  of  "  Lot,"  Luke  xvii:  26-37.  The 
Gospel  will  have  gone,  as  a  testimony,  to  all  nations,  and 
Christendom,  the  field  full  of  Tares  and  Wheat,  will  be  burd- 
ened with  "  scandals  "  to  be  "  taken  out  "  by  the  sickle  of 
judgment.  Matt,  xiii:  41.  Modern  Culture  and  Civilization 
will  have  done  their  best  and  worst,  and  amid  antichristianity, 
lawlessness,  church-defection,  and  a  world  in  war,  Israel's 
problem  will  demand  solution. 

(2)  The  intervention  of  Michael  in  behalf  of  Israel.  "At  that 
time,  Michael,  the  great  prince  standing  over  the  children  of 
thy  people  (the  Jews),  shall  stand  firm,"  xii:  i.  By  Michael 
is  not  meant  the  "Angel  of  Jehovah,"  nor  "Jesus  Christ,"  but 
the  guardian  angel-prince  of  Israel,  who  with  Gabriel  exer- 
cises a  protectorate  over  God's  ancient  people.  He  is  the 
"  archangel  Michael  "  who  contendevl  for  the  body  of  Moses, 
Jude  9,  and  who,  with  Gabriel,  "  stood  up  "  for  Israel  in  the 
days  of  Cyrus  and  Darius  the  Mede,  and  in  the  days  of  Anti- 


CHAPTERS  X-XII.—EXD  OF   WARFARE  GREAT.        191 

ochus,  to  give  the  victory  to  Judas  Maccabaeus,  Dan.  x:  13,  20; 
xi:  I.     Once  more  he  "stands  up,"  "over,"  and  "firm  for" 
converted  Israel,  "the  holy  people,"  xii.  7;  "these  my  breth- 
ren," Matt,  xxv:  40;  the  144,000,  Rev.  vii:  4-8;  xiv:  1-5;  xii: 
10,  11;  Isa.  Ixvi:  5,  i.  e.,  "the  people  of  the  Saints  of  the  Most 
High,"  vii:  27.    Here  again  we  have  a  glimpse  into  the  angel 
world.     Satan  is  still  the  "  god  of  this  world  "   (age),  and 
"  prince  of  the  power  of  the  air,"  and  has  the  right  to  "accuse" 
before  God  the  Jewish  people  as  apostates  from  their  covenant 
so  long  as  they  remain  in  unbelief,  and  even  to  "  accuse  "  be- 
lievers before  God,  because  of  their  sins.    Job  ii:  1-5;  Zech.  iii: 
I.    The  significant  fact  here  is  that  when  Michael  stands  up, 
at  the  time  specified,  Satan  and  his  angels — till  then  allowed 
to  roam  the  air — are  "  cast  out  "  from  their  serial  spheres  and 
dejected  to  the  earth.     Rev.  xii:  9.    With  this  dejection  of  the 
Dragon  the  great  tribulation  begins,  the  cause  of  Michael's 
standing  up  being  Israel's  conversion  to  Christ,  at  the  middle 
of  the  70th  week.     Rev.  xii:  i-ii.     The  ground  of  Satan's  ac- 
cusation is  cut  away  by  the  Jewish  acceptance  of  Jesus  Christ 
preached  to  them  by  the  "  Two  Witnesses,"  Rev.  xi:  3,  and  by 
the  Church,  to  whom  the  "  open  door  "  of  missions  to  the 
Jews  is  given,"  Rev.  iii:  7-11;  Acts  iii:   19-21;  Rom.  xi:  26. 
The  battle  of  Michael  and  his  host  is,  first  of  all,  in  the  air, 
where  Satan  roams  and  sends  his  evil  angels  and  his  influence 
to  sway  the  powers  of  the  earth  adversely  to  the  Jews.     Then 
there  is  "  War  in  Heaven,"  i.  e.,  in  the  aerial  regions.     John 
describes   it.      "  Michael   and   his   angels   fought   against   the 
Dragon;  and  the  Dragon  and  his  angels  fought  and  prevailed 
not,  neither  was  their  place  found  any  more  in  heaven."     Rev. 
xii:  7,  8.    They  are  cast  down  to  rage  on  the  earth  a  "short 
time,"  viz.,  during  the  last  3^  years  of  the  70th  week.     Rev. 
xii;  12;  Matt,  xxiv:  22.    The  conversion  of  the  Jews,  at  least, 
of  their  first  instalment,  and  the  dejection  of  the  Dragon,  are 
simultaneous  events,  at  the  middle  of  the  70th  week.     This 
overthrow  of  Satan  in  the  air  is  the  preliminary  action  on  the 
skirmish  line,  as  it  were,  the  assault  of  the  advanced-guard  on 
the  outposts  of  Satan's  kingdom,   viz.,   on    "the  hosts  of  the 


192  DANIELS  GREAT  PROPHECY 

high  ones  on  high,"  Isa.  xxiv:  21.  It  is  intended  to  clear  the 
air  from  the  evil  angels  and  prepare  the  region  for  the  Rapture 
of  the  Saints  at  the  Coming  of  Christ  in  the  clouds  of  heaven. 

But  if  the  conHict  is  aerial,  it  is  also  terrestrial,  and  chiefly 
in  the  Holy  Land,  where  "  the  nations  are  gathered  against 
Jerusalem."  Here  also  angelic  intervention  shall  occur  in 
Israel's  behalf.  "  Thither  cause  Thy  mighty  ones  to  come 
down,  O  Lord!  "  Joel  iii:  11.  The  "  War  of  the  Great  Day  of 
God  Almighty"  includes  "  the  kings  of  the  earth  on  the  earth,' 
as  well  as  "  the  hosts  of  the  high  ones  on  high."  Isa.  xxiv:  21. 
Angels  execute  the  "  Harvest  "  and  the  "  Vintage  "  orders. 
Rev.  xiv:  12-20;  Zech.  xiii:  8;  xiv:  5;  Jude  15.  Great,  how- 
ever, as  is  the  help  of  Michael,  the  destruction  of  the  Anti- 
christ is  reserved  for  Christ  alone,  Isa.  xi:  4;  II.  Thess.  ii:  8; 
Isa.  lix:  19,  20;  Dan.  vii:  13;  Rev.  xix:  11-21.  There  is  right 
and  propriety  in  this.  It  is  when  the  Lord  himself  appears 
in  person  to  raise  His  saints,  and  smite  the  Antichrist,  that  the 
"  Warfare  Great  "  is  terminated  and  Israel  is  delivered.  To 
Him  belongs  the  victory,  the  kingdom,  the  power  and  the 
glory. 

(3)  The  Great  Tribulation.  "  There  shall  be  a  time  of 
Trouble  such  as  never  was  since  there  was  a  nation,  even  to 
that  same  time,"  xii:  i.  Of  this,  much  has  already  been  said. 
It  is  that  period  of  aftliction  described  so  graphically  and  so 
frequently  in  both  Testaments,  by  Moses,  Deut.  xxxii:  39-43; 
by  Balaam,  Num.  xxiv:  23,  24;  by  Isaiah,  xxvi:  8-21;  lix:  16- 
21;  Ixvi:  5-16;  by  Jeremiah,  xxx:  7;  by  Ezekiel,  xxxviii:  1-23; 
xxxix:  1-29;  by  Joel,  iii:  9-16;  by  Zephaniah,  iii:  8;  by  Zech- 
ariah,  xii:  1-14;  xiii:  i;  xiv:  1-5;  by  our  Lord.  Matt,  xxiv:  15, 
28;  by  Paul,  II.  Thess.  i:  6,  7;  and  by  John,  Rev.  iii:  10;  vii: 
14;  xi:  7;  xii:  12;  xiii:  1-18,  covering  the  second  half  of  the 
Apocalypse  from  chapter  xii.  to  xx.  Here  is  found  the  formal 
condenmation  of  all  the  modern  optimistic  schemes,  social 
theories,  and  wide-spread  false  teaching,  that  looks  for  the  re- 
form of  the  whole  world  and  conversion  of  the  nations  before 
the  Second  Coming  of  Christ.  If  wc  ask  the  Prophets.  Christ 
^nd  His  Apostles,  zi'hat  they  expected  in  the  Future,  after  the 


CHAPTERS  X-XII.—END  OF  IV  ARE  ARE  GREAT.        193 

Gospel  seed  had  been  scattered  over  all  the  earth,  their  reply 
will  be  found  to  be  one  and  harmonious.  By  the  side  of  the 
Wheat,  Satan's  seed,  the  Tares,  will  occupy  the  field  of  the 
world  "together"  till  the  Lord  comes.  During  the  Times  of 
the  Gentiles  Israel  will  remain  in  unbelief.  Along  with  the 
progress  of  Christianity,  externally  waxing  to  a  power  in  the 
world,  and  allying  itself  with  governments  and  states,  shall 
go  prosperity,  internal  corruption  and  decay,  a  deepening  de- 
parture from  the  faith,  as  the  last  times  draw  near — antichris- 
tianity  at  last  ascendant,  the  world  controlling  the  Church, 
false  teaching,  false  Messiahs,  false  culture  and  civilization, 
crime  universal,  the  faithful  a  "little  flock"  to  whom  it  is  "tht 
Father's  good  pleasure  to  give  the  kingdom."  The  great 
apostasy  in  Christendom  shall  culminate  in  the  Antichrist, 
and  bring  the  crisis  of  the  "  Warfare  Great,"  viz.,  the  "Great 
Tribulation,"  the  world  still  "  lying  in  the  Wicked  One." 
They  looked  for  all  this,  and  for  the  return  of  the  Jews  to  their 
own  land,  their  conversion  in  the  midst  of  the  crisis,  and  the 
Second  Coming  of  Christ  to  put  an  end  to  the  whole  disorder 
and  bring  His  Kingdom  of  righteousness  and  truth  to  victory. 
No  other  future  than  this  is  found  in  the  Sacred  Scriptures, 
save  the  Millennial  Age  and  the  final  New  Heaven  and  Earth, 
both  which  follow  the  Advent  of  the  Son  of  Man  in  clouds. 
The  triumph  of  the  Kingdom  comes  only  to  those  who,  faith- 
ful to  Christ,  pass  through  this  Tribulation,  and,  sealed  by  His 
Spirit,  are  "  overcomers  "  who  have  "  gotten  the  victory  over 
the  Beast  and  His  Image,  his  ^lark  and  the  Number  of  liis 
Name,"  even  as  before  in  early  times,  Rev.  xv:  2;  xx:  4.  The 
unwritten  in  the  Book  of  Life  "  worship  the  Beast  "  and  perish 
in  his  punishment.  Rev.  xiii:  8.  The  conversion  and  reform 
of  the  whole  world  before  the  Second  Advent  is  a  human  fic- 
tion, contradicted  by  both  Testaments. 

In  Daniel's  Book  the  Tribulation,  though  universal,  is  con- 
fined to  the  Jews  and  the  Holy  Land,  the  election  out  of  Israel 
being  prominent,  as  in  Rev.  vii:  4-8,  but  not  the  election  out 
of  the  Gentiles,  who  yet  pass  through  the  same  Tribulation, 
Rev.  vii:  9-17.     Territorially,  the  vision  covers  Europe,  Asia 


194  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

and  Africa,  within  the  Hniits  of  the  old  Roman  empire,  yet 
Palestine  is  the  centre  of  the  drama.  For  the  Jews  the  Holy 
Land  will  be  a  furnace  seven  times  hot,  and  a  lion's  den.  As 
in  Maccabean  days,  they  shall  fall  "  by  the  sword,  by  flame, 
by  captivity  and  spoil."  Tried  the  faithful  will  be,  as  were  the 
first  Christians,  as  were  the  martyrs  in  Papal  times,  as  were 
the  faithful  Armenians  in  our  own  day.  Tried  they  will  be  by 
apostates  of  their  own  race  who  will  cast  them  out,  as  the 
Jews  go  on  building  their  Temple,  Isa.  Ixvi:  1-5;  Rev.  xi:  1-3; 
and  by  the  Antichrist,  doubly  enraged  because  of  their  conver- 
sion on  the  one  hand,  and  the  effort  of  apostates  on  the  other 
to  gain  the  independence  of  Pale-stine.  Both  these  events  are 
the  cause  of  the  Antichrist's  breach  of  his  covenant,  of  his 
sitting  in  the  Temple  as  God  himself,  demanding  homage  from 
all  on  pain  of  death  for  disobedience.  Tried  they  will  be  by 
the  Rabbinism  of  the  magnates  among  them,  who  seek  to  de- 
velop Judaism  in  opposition  to  Christianity,  ejecting  them 
from  their  fellowship,  ostracised  socially,  destroyed  commer- 
cially, persecuted  personally,  and,  if  scorning  to  be  bribed, 
then  betrayed,  massacred,  and  left  unburied  in  the  streets — vic- 
tims, not  only  of  the  sword  of  the  Ottoman,  but  of  the  "Cher- 
em,"  or  "  curse,"  of  the  Jew,  pronounced  upon  them.  Isa. 
Ixvi:  5;  Rev.  xiii:  7-10. 

(4)  The  Deliverance,  "  Thy  people  shall  be  delivered,"  xii: 
I,  i.  e.,  at  the  close  of  the  Great  Tribulation,  xii:  7;  vii:  25-27; 
ix:  27.  Here  is  proof  conclusive  that  the  final  gathering  of 
living  Israel,  and  the  resurrection  of  Israel's  holy  dead,  are 
contemporaneous  events  at  the  close  of  the  Great  Tribulation, 
Dan.  xii:  1-3,  and  that  "  our  gathering  together  unto  Christ  " 
is  at  the  same  time-point  of  Israel's  Deliverance,  viz.,  at  the 
close  of  the  70th  week.  II.  Thess.  ii:  1-3.  This  promise  of 
Deliverance  of  the  "  Remnant  "  is  ancient  as  Moses  and  runs 
through  both  Testaments.  Not  exempted  from  trial,  or  even 
martyrdom,  yet  the  "  Remnant  "  shall  not  be  destroyed.  Sealed 
of  God,  kept  safe  from  the  power  of  temptation,  delivered  out 
of  all  their  troubles,  as  were  their  fathers  before  them,  they 
shall  be  overcomers  through  the  blood  of  the  Lamb.     "Alas, 


CHAPTERS  X-Xll.—END  OF  WARFARE  GREAT.        195 

for  the  day  is  great,  so  great  that  none  is  hke  it;  it  is  the  time 
of  Jacob's  trouble  but  he  shall  be  saved  out  of  it."  Jer.  xxx:  7. 
Accounted  worthy  to  escape  the  licentiousness,  drunkeness, 
surfeiting,  cares  of  this  life  and  snares  of  the  antichristian  time, 
and  the  judgments  to  fall  on  the  ungodly,  they  shall  stand,  a 
faultless  company,  with  their  Redeemer,  on  the  earthly 
"  Mount  Zion,"  where  He  promises  to  come  to  them.  Isa. 
lix:  20;  Rom.  xi:  25,  26;  Rev.  xiv:  1-5.* 

The  deliverance  will  be  miraculous,  (i)  by  the  personal  ap- 
pearing of  the  Son  of  Alan,  first  of  all  in  the  clouds  of  heaven 
Dan.  vii:  13;  (2)  in  the  next  place,  "His  feet  shall  stand  on 
the  Mount  of  Olives,"  and  a  way  of  escape  for  the  Jews  be 
provided  by   earthquake    shocks,   sundering    the    mountain, 

*Remarkable  is  the  space  given  to  Israel  in  the  Revelation  by  John. 
Elect  Israel  is  sealed,  Rev.  vii:  48.  The  "  Little  Book  "  in  x:  8,  contains 
the  fortunes  of  the  Jevi^s  in  the  Time  of  the  End,  when  the  "mystery 
of  God  "  foreshown  to  Daniel  and  the  prophets  concerning  Israel's 
rejection  and  recovery,  and  the  overthrow  of  the  Kingdoms  of  this 
world,  is  completed — the  Little  Book  symbolising  the  contents  of  the 
following  chapters.  The  70th  Week,  and  Scenes  in  Jerusalem  under 
the  Anti-Christ,  enter  at  xi:  i,  and  continue  through,  with  other 
events,  to  xx:  i,  i.  e.,  through  the  last  1,260  days.  All  from  xii:  i  to 
XX :  I  is  the  last  1,260,  i.  e.,  is  the  seventh  trumpet,  which  is  the  seven 
vials.  The  Beast,  in  xi:  7,  is  the  Antichrist.  The  Sun-clothed  Woman, 
in  xii:  i  is  the  Daughter  of  Zion,  the  Jewish  Church,  seen  in  her 
whole  history  at  both  advents.  The  144,000,  in  xiv:  1-5,  are  delivered 
Israel,  the  same  as  in  vii:  4-8,  but  safe  with  their  Redeemer  returned 
to  them  on  the  earthly  Mount  Zion,  at  the  close  of  the  Tribulation. 
The  vision  is  proleptic.  In  xv:  2-4,  the  martyrs  of  Israel  are  harping 
in  heaven,  even  as  the  martyrs  and  confessors  of  the  church  are  seen 
in  heaven,  in  vii:  9-17.  In  xvi:  16,  is  Armageddon  in  Palestine.  In 
xi:  18;  xiv:  13-16;  xvi:  15;  xx:  2-^;  are  the  Second  Advent,  the  Resur- 
rection of  the  holy  dead,  the  Reaping  of  the  living  saints,  the  en- 
thronement. In  xiv:  17-20;  xix:  11-21;  the  Valley  of  Jehoshaphat,  the 
Blood-Bath,  the  Destruction  of  the  Anti-Christ,  the  Deliverance  of 
Israel,  at  Jerusalem.  In  xix:  1-9,  the  Hallel  over  the  ruin  of  Babylon 
and  the  Marriage-time  of  the  Jewish  wife,  long  separated  from,  but 
now  returned  to  her  husband.  Isa.  Ixii:  3-5.  Hos.  ii:  19-23.  In  xx: 
9,  is  Jerusalem  the  "  Beloved  City,"  the  metropolis  of  the  millennial 
age.  Such  the  place  of  Israel  in  New  Testament  prophecy,  in  the 
"  Time  of  the  End,"  and  millennial  age. 


196  DAM  EL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

Zech.  xiv,  10;  (3)  by  the  tripartition  of  the  city  previously, 
its  fall  of  "one-tenth"  of  it,  and  the  engulfment  of  "7000  men 
of  name,"  the  supporters  of  the  Antichrist;  Rev.  ii:  13;  (4)  by 
the  destruction  of  the  Antichrist  and  his  hosts  "outside  the 
city,"  Rev.  xiv:  20;  Dan.  ix:  2y;  vii:  26;  xii:  7;  2  Thess.  ii:  8; 
Rev.  xix:  11;  (5)  and,  as  stated,  by  the  coming  of  the  Lord  to 
"Zion,"  the  last  military  station  where  the  Antichrist  en- 
camped, Dan.  xi:  45.  It  will  be  an  elect  deliverance  even  of 
"as  many  as  are  written  in  the  book,"  Dan.  xii:  i;  "the  holy, 
every  one  written  among  the  living  in  Jerusalem,"  Isa,  iv:  3; 
the  surviving  "  We  who  are  alive  and  remain  unto  the  coming 
of  the  Lord,"  even  as  in  the  case  of  Gentile  believers,  who  have 
just  been  caught  away,  i  Thess.  iv:  17.  It  will  be  a  spiritual 
deliverance  of  Israel  new-born  and  penitent,  accepting  Christ 
and  trusting  for  pardon  through  His  blood,  Zech.  xiii:  i; 
xii:  9-14;  Ezek.  xxxvi:  24-29;  Acts  iii:  19-21  (R.  V.);  Rom. 
xi:  26;  Isa.  lix:  20-21.  It  will  be  a  political  deliverance  from 
subjection  to  the  Gentile  Powers,  to  restoration  of  long  lost 
sovereignty,  and  of  an  absolutely  independent  kingdom  which 
no  sword  or  diplomacy  shall  ever  wrest  from  their  possession, 
— a  kingdom  in  which  Judah  and  Israel  shall  be  one  and  un- 
divided forever,  Zech  .xii:  3;  Ezek.  xxxvii:  22 — an  Israelitish 
kingdom,  the  centre  of  Messiah's  kingdom,  wide  as  the  world, 
Luke  i:  32,  33;  i:  70-74.  It  will  be  a  jubilant  deliverance, 
the  ransomed  of  the  Lord  returning  to  Zion  "with  songs  and 
everlasting  joy  upon  their  heads,"  Isa.  xxxv:  10.  It  will  be 
a  deliverance,  God-glorifying  and  irreversible.  "  They  shall 
dwell  in  the  land,  even  they  and  their  children,  forever," 
Ezek.  xxxvii:  25,  God's  sanctuary  among  them,  He  their  God 
and  they  His  people — His  Name  "  magnified  among  all  na- 
tions." Ezek.  xxxvii:  2y,  28;  xxxviii:  23;  xxxix:  27-29; 
Dan.  ix:  24.  If  the  Tribulation  is  great,  the  Deliverance  is 
greater  still.  It  gives  birth  to  the  first  time  in  history  when 
God's  name  is  universally  "hallowed"  by  the  nations,  and  pro- 
fanity expires, — and  when  the  will  of  God  is  "done  on  earth  as 
it  is  in  heaven,"  Rev.  xv:  4.  Of  such  importance  is  Israel  for 
the  kingdom  of  God. 


CHAPTERS  X-X/I.-EXD  OF  WARFARE  GREAT.        jgj 

(5)  The  Resurrection  of  the  Holy  Dead.     Not  only  shall 
liAang   Israel's   election   be   delivered,   but   the   holy    dead   be 
waked  to  share  the  joy.     Decisive  and  clear  are  the  words  of 
the  angel,  "At  that  time,"  when   Israel  is  delivered, — "many 
shall    awake  (literally,  be  separated)  out    from    among    the 
sleepers  in  the  earth-dust;  these  (who  awake  at  that  time)  shall 
be  unto  everlasting  life,  but  those  (who  do  not  awake  at  that 
time)  shall  be  unto  shame  and  everlasting  contempt,"  xii:  2. 
The  "those"  include  two  classes  (i)  the  wicked,  long-buried 
in  the  earth,  (2)  the  slaughtered  wicked,  still  unburied  on  the 
field,  "an  abhorrence  to  all  flesh,"  Isa.  Lxvi:  24;  Rev.  xix:  17- 
21;  Ezek.  xxxix:   11,  17-20.     A  simultaneous  resurrection  of 
all  mankind,  good  and  bad,  is  nowhere  taught  in  the  Scrip- 
tures.    It  is  the  resurrection  of  the  holy,  and  of  Israel's  holy 
dead  that  is  here  predicted,  as  in  Isa.  xxvi:  19,  and  the  non- 
resurrection  of  the  wicked,  "at  that  time,"  Isa.  xxvi:  14.     The 
resurrection  here  taught  is  the  "First  Resurrection,"  Rev.  xx: 
3-6;  that  of  the  already  spiritually  raised,  John  v:  24,  25;  that 
of  "the  just,"  Luke  xiv:  14;  the  "out-resurrection,"  Phil,  iii: 
11;    the  hour  when  Old  and  New  Testament    saints  are  to- 
gether "made  perfect"  in  their  communion  and  in  the  consum- 
mation of  their  blessedness,  both  waked  from  their  graves  by 
the  voice  of  the  Son  of  God.     Heb.  xi:  35,  40.     No  greater 
epoch  has  earth  ever  known.     Its  time-point  is  given  with  the 
utmost  precision  in  the  Scriptures.     It  is  the  time-point  of  the 
Second  Advent  for  the  salvation  of  the  righteous  and  destruc- 
tion of  the  wicked,  even  as  at  the  one  time-point  Noah  and 
his  family  entered  the  Ark,  and  the  ungodly  perished  in  the 
Flood;  and  Israel  was  redeemed  when  Egypt  was  whelmed  in 
the  sea;  and  the  Church  fled  to  Fella  when  Jerusalem  was  de- 
stroyed.    It  is  a  time-point  for  both  Judgment  and  Salvation. 
Asaph  calls  it  the  •'  shining"  of  the  Lord,  Ps.  1:  1-6.     Isaiah 
calls  it  His  "Appearing,"    lxvi:  5,    in  order  to  raise  the  holy 
dead,  deliver  Israel,  destroy  the  Antichrist,  and  bring  to  vic- 
tory the  kingdom.     Five  times  in  the  Old  Testament  this  il- 
lustrious Parousia  of  Christ  is  described  as  (i)  the  Coming  of 
the  Son  of  ^lan  in  the  Clouds  of  Fleaven,   Dan.  vii:  13;    (2) 


tqS  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

of  the  Conqueror  from  Bozrah,  descending  over  Edom,  Isa. 
Ixiii:  1-6;  (3)  of  the  Coming  of  the  Lord  to  Ohvet,  Zech.  xiv: 
5;  (4)  and  to  Zion,  Isa.  Hx:  20,  and  (5)  in  Clouds  for  both 
Judgment  and  Salvation,  Ps.  1:  1-6;  xcvi:i3;  xcvii:  2-8; 
xcviii:  1-9;  ex:  1-7;  Ixxii:  2,  4,  9-14,  18,  19;  cii:  13-17.  Not 
less  great  does  it  appear  in  the  New  Testament,  and  precisely 
for  the  same  events,  with  others  added.  Ten  times  again  this 
time-point  is  fixed  at  the  close  of  the  Great  Tribulation,  and  is 
described  (i)  as  the  Lord's  Coming  with  His  Saints,  the  Holy 
Angels,  for  His  Saints  the  Holy  Living  and  the  Holy  Dead — 
a  "  Gathering  of  His  Elect  ,"  universally,  involving  first  of  all, 
the  resurrection  of  the  holy  who  sleep  in  the  dust  of  the  earth, 
then  the  rapture  of  these  and  the  Holy  Living  ones,  and  their 
meeting  of  the  Lord  in  the  air  Matth.  xxiv:  29-31,  40,  41; 
XXV :  I;  these  scenes,  followed  by  the  deliverance  of  con- 
verted Irael, — "these,  my  brethren,"  Matth.  xxv:  40,  the 
Judgment  of  the  Nations,  xxv:  31-46,  and  the  welcome  to 
the  kingdom;  (2)  as  the  time-point  for  "Our  gathering  to- 
gether at  Christ,"  2  Thess.  ii:  i,  "in  the  air,"  i  Thess.  iv:  17; 
(3)  as  the  "thief -time,''  Matth.  xxiv:  43;  (4)  as  the  Coming  to 
judge  the  World-Power.  Rev.  vi:  12-17;  (5)  as  His  Coming 
under  the  Seventh  Trumpet,  to  vindicate  the  holy  dead  by  their 
resurrection,  Rev.  xi:  15-17,  18;  (6)  as  His  Coming  to  reap  the 
holy  living,  Rev.  xiv:  14-16;  (7)  and  at  the  "thief-time,"  Rev. 
xvi:  15;  (8)  and  after  the  Sixth  Vial,  Rev.  xvi:  12;  (9}  and  to 
destroy  Babylon,  Rev.  xvi:  19;  (10)  and  the  Antichrist,  Rev. 
xix:  11-21;  (11)  and  to  enthrone  and  reward  His  Saints,  Rev. 
XX :  1-6.  So  great  is  this  greatest  of  all  time-points  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  world,  when  the  Jews  are  restored,  and  Gentile 
politics  and  power  are  destroyed,  and  the  holy  dead  are  waked 
from  their  graves.  From  Moses  to  Malachi,  and  from  Mat- 
thew to  the  Apocalypse  by  John,  the  Resurrection  of  the 
Sleeping  Saints  is  placed  at  no  other  epoch  than  the  close  of 
the  "  Tribulation  Great,"  and  of  the  "  Warfare  Great." 

The  idea,  therefore,  of  a  Secret  Parousia  for  the  resurrection 
of  the  holy  dead,  prior  to  the  a]-)pcaring  of  the  Son  of  Man  in 
the  clouds  of  heaven  at  the  close  of  the  tribulation,  is  contrary 


CHAPTERS  X-XII.—END  OF  WARFARE  GREAT.        199 

to  the  Word  of  God.  To  this  time-point  of  the  revelation  of 
Christ  in  His  glory,  to  raise  the  dead,  deliver  Israel,  and  de- 
stroy the  Antiehrist,  the  hope  of  both  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ment saints,  was  directed.  Matth.  xxiv:  29-31,  40-44;  2  Thess. 
i:  6-10;  ii:  1-8;  I  Thess.  iv:  14-17;  Rev.  xi:  17;  xiv:  13-20; 
xix:  1 1 -21;  XX :  1-6;  xvi:  15;  Dan.  xii:  1-3;  Alatth.  xiii:  40. 
In  view  of  that  hope,  Old  Testament  martyrs,  accounting 
themselves  dead  even  before  the  tyrant  had  struck  them,  re- 
fused to  "accept  deliverance"  at  the  cost  of  foreswearing  their 
faith.  The  New  Testament  martyrs  did  the  same.  The  "better 
thing"  they  grasped  by  faith  was  the  "  better  resurrection," 
when  both,  washed  in  the  blood  of  Christ,  Heb.  ix:  15,  should 
together  be  perfected,  body  and  soul,  in  the  likeness  of  Christ, 
at  His  second  coming,  and  satisfied,  Ps.  xvii:  15;  1: 
3-6;  Dan.  xii:  1-3;  Matth.  xxiii:  40;  xxiv:  29-31.  One  in 
Christ,  and  one  -with  each  other,  both  saved  in  the  same  way. 
God  foresaw  and  provided  the  plan  concerning  us,  "that  they 
apart  from  us,  should  not  be  made  perfect."  Heb.  xi:  35,  40. 
]\Ioses  and  Paul.  Isaiah  and  John,  are  one  in  Christ. 

(6)  The  Splendor  of  the  Risen  Saints.  They  that  be  wise 
shall  shine  as  the  brightness  of  the  firmament,  and  they  that 
have  turned  the  many  to  righteousness,  as  the  stars  forever 
and  ever,"  xii:  3.  The  angel  employs  two  words  nowhere 
else  found  in  the  Old  Testament,  (i)  Hayi  Olaiu,  life  ever- 
lasting, i.  c:  to  die  no  more,  and  (2)  Hicliir,  shall  shine,  from 
Zohar,  splendor.  This  last  one  is  beautifully  rendered  by  the 
German  word  Hiiumclglaji::,  the  gleam  of  Heaven.  Closes 
describes  the  firmament  as  a  "sapphire  pavement"  beneath  the 
feet  of  the  God  of  Israel,  "the  body  of  heaven  in  its  clearness," 
Exodus  xxxiv:  10,  and  Elihu  compares  it  to  a  "molten  mir- 
ror," shining  with  undimmed  resplendency.  Job  xxxvii:  18. 
Ezekiel  describes  it  as  "  an  appearance  of  brightness  as  the 
look  of  the  brightness  of  burnished  gold."  Ezek.  viii:  2.  To 
the  golden  sheen  the  angel  adds  the  incandescent  glory  of  the 
"stars,"  literally  of  the  "glitterers."  Our  Lord  and  Paul  al- 
lude to  these  expressions  in  their  brilliant  language  when 
speaking  of  the  resurrection  and  its  different  degrees  of  glory, 


^  )0  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

Matth.  xiii:  43;  i  Cor.  xv:  41.  An  instance  of  the  reality, 
we  have  in  the  Transfig^uration  of  the  Lord  in  the  "holv 
mount,"  when  His  face  did  shine  as  the  Sun,  and  His  raiment 
was  white  as  the  hght,"  Matth.  xvii:  21,  "white  as  snow  and 
ghstering-,"  Mark  ix:  3;. Luke  ix:  30.  What  the  angel  teaches 
is  that  the  wise  shall  shine  like  the  crystal  sheen  of  a  sunlit 
firmament,  and  the  converters  of  the  many  to  righteousness 
shall  glow  with  the  glitter  of  the  stars  in  a  cloudless  canopy. 
Still  more,  their  efifulgence  shall  be  eternal — a  glory  unob- 
scured  forever,  xii:  3.  This  their  Zohar.  Degrees  of  glory 
there  will  be,  even  as  the  three  in  Orion's  belt  excel  in  magni- 
tude and  glory  the  lesser  stars  of  the  constellation.  The  trans- 
figuration of  the  living  will  equal  that  of  the  dead.  The  Lord 
extends  the  splendor  to  all  the  "righteous."  Matth.  xiii:  40. 
Allusion  is  here  doubtless  to  the  Maccabean  teachers  of  the 
law,  in  xi:  33-35,  but  the  prophecy  includes  the  whole  sacra- 
mental host  of  God's  elect,  who  share  the  glory  ready  to  be 
revealed.  All  who  are  instrumental  in  the  salvation  of  the 
many  will  be  clothed  with  a  surpassing  brightness.  Eminent, 
the  martyrs  of  Jesus  will  shine,  saints  who  have  not  deemed 
as  dear  to  them  their  lives,  for  Jesus'  sake.  Rev.  xx:  4;  xiv: 
13;  2  Thess.  i:  5;  Heb.  xi:  35-39;  Rev.  xii:  11 ;  2  Tim.  iv:  6-8. 
Such  the  "out-resurrection."  Phil,  iii:  11.  If  a  splendor  so 
great  and  enduring,  for  the  body  alone — even  to  be  glorified 
like  Christ,  whose  brightness  Paul  tells  us  eclipsed  the  noon- 
day sun — is  the  reward  of  a  Tribulation  so  brief,  then  indeed 
the  sorest  afflictions  are  but  as  the  puncture  of  a  pin.  and  the 
longest  but  as  a  moment — not  worthy  to  be  compared  with  the 
"  far  more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glorv."  Rom.  viii: 
18.  Earth  never  wore  a  diadem  so  royal  as  that  composed  of 
risen  saints.  The  eloquence  of  all  antiquity,  or  modern  times, 
has  furnished  no  description  equal  to  this  conclusion  of  the 
prophecy;  a  scene  so  imposing,  majestic  and  impressive;  so 
sanctifying  and  sublime;  so  solemn  and  subduing!  We  have 
seen  the  rainbow  braided  on  the  brow  of  the  dying  storm,  but 
here  a  glory-crown  of  saints,  the  jeweled  diadem  of  God,  is 


CHAPTRRS  X-XI1.~END  OF  WARFARE  GREAT. 


201 


placed  upon  the  head  of  the  dark  Tribulation  itself— a  vision 
that  can  never  vanish  from  the  soul  of  the  believer.  How  quick 
the  transit  from  the  cross  to  the  crown,  from  shame  to  honor, 
from  sufifering;  to  glory!  The  end  of  the  "  Warfare  Great "  is 
the  outburst  of  an  illumination  which  celebrates  a  victory  for 
the  Kingdom  of  God  that  is  everlasting.  Time  cannot  dim  its 
brightness.     Eternity  will  only  enhance  its  greatness. 

II.  The  Completion  of  Daniel's  Book.  The  great  prophecy 
of  Daniel  is  now  ended.  The  whole  future  has  been  disclosed 
to  the  Second  Coming  of  Christ,  and  now  the  angel  issues  his 
order  to  the  prophet.  "  But  thou,  O  Daniel,  shut  up  the  words 
and  seal  the  Book,  even  to  the  time  of  the  end."  xii:  4,  i.  e., 
(i)  to  the  end  of  the  third  empire,  and  (2)  to  the  end  of  the 
fourth.  By  the  "words"  is  meant  the  words  of  the  last  revela- 
tion just  given,  viz.,  chapters  x,  xi,  xii:  1-3.  By  the  "book," 
the  whole  Book  of  Daniel,  from  first  to  last.  By  "shut  up  the 
words"  is  meant,  bind  them  with  the  rest  of  the  parchments, 
as  part  of  the  Book.  By  "seal  the  book"  is  meant,  attach  to 
the  roll  the  ofificial  seals  of  its  authentication,  and  deposit  the 
same  in  the  archives  of  the  Jewish  nation,  as  part  of  Holy 
Scripture.  Preserve  it  for  the  warning  and  comfort  of  God's 
people.  This  does  not  mean  that  its  contents  shall  remain  in- 
accessible to  the  High  Priest  or  to  teachers  of  the  people.  The 
order  relates  alone  to  the  preservation  of  the  original  text.  It 
was  the  custom  of  the  prophets,  before  binding  the  separate 
parchments,  to  transcribe  copies  for  the  public  use,  from  which 
still  others  were  transcribed  by  official  hands,  under  penalties 
for  error.  Thus  the  Book  of  Daniel  descended  to  the  Jews, 
in  a  standard  text,  with  which  all  copies  could  be  compared  as 
the  near  "time  of  the  end"  approached.  The  order  of  the  angel 
implies  no  less  than  this,  that  Daniel  was  the  author  of  the 
whole  book,  most  of  which  was  written  during  the  exile,  and 
Its  finisher  in  post-exilic  times,  during  the  Persian  reign. 

HI.  The  Prediction  of  the  Study  of  the  Book  in  the  "  Time 
of  the  End."  "  Many  shall  run  to  and  fro,  and  the  knowledge 
shall  be  increased."    Dan.  xii:  4.    This  explains  the  reason  of 


^02  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

the  order.  A  long  period  will  intervene  between  now  and  then, 
and  only  then  will  the  contents  of  the  book  be  completely  un- 
derstood, therefore  "seal  the  book,"  that  a  sure  and  standard 
text  may  be  preserved.  Proof  conclusive,  again,  that  the  book 
was  written  long  before  the  Alaccabean  times.  That  it  existed 
then  and  was  studied  with  unabated  interest,  is  established  by 
indisputable  testimonies.  That  it  is  studied  to-day,  yet  more 
than  ever,  is  a  sign  of  the  nearing  "time  of  the  end."  By  the 
words  "run  to  and  fro"  is  meant,  not  "modern  locomotion." 
nor  "missionary  enterprise,"  nor  "rushing  here  and  there," 
but  the  diligent  perusal  of  the  book  with  intensity  and  earnest- 
ness, by  the  method  of  turning  forward  and  backward  its 
pages,  comparing  prophecy  with  prophecy,  in  order  to  under- 
stand its  contents.  The  angel  means  that,  as  the  "time  of  the 
end"  approaches,  whether  the  near  or  far  horizon,  "multi- 
tudes" will  devote  themselves  to  a  study  of  the  book,  and  come 
to  the  "inner  perception"  (the  knowledge)  of  its  meaning. 
Light  will  burst  forth  as  Israel's  day  draws  near.  The  definite 
article  "  the,"  before  the  word  "  knowledge,"  in  the  original 
text,  is  conclusive  against  the  idea  of  modern  locomotion  and 
knowledge  of  every  kind.  It  means  the  knowledge  of  the 
prophecy. 

IV.  The  Epilogue  or  Closing  Vision,  xii:  5-13.  With  the 
termination  of  the  order,  what  we  have  is 

(i.)  The  sudden  change  of  the  scene;  and  not  without  some 
deep  significance.  The  linen-clothed-man  reappears,  hover- 
ing over  the  Iliddekcl  to  which  the  name  of  the  Nile — "Yeor" 
— is  given,  as  if  to  remind  Israel  that  hereafter,  in  the  crisis  it 
shall  be  again  as  it  was  "in  the  day  when  he  came  out  of 
Egypt."  Isa.  xi:  14-16;  xix:  21-25;  >^>^vii:  12,  13.  Besides  Ga- 
briel and  IMichael,  "two  others"  appear  in  the  scene,  one  on 
this,  the  other  on  that  side  of  the  river.  Clearly,  they  are  intro- 
duced as  two  witnesses  of  the  oath  about  to  be  made  by  the  lin- 
en-clothed man.  Expositors  dififer  greatly  as  to  who  these  "two 
others"  or  "after  ones"  arc,  whose  names  are  purposely  wtih- 
held,  and  whose  position  alone  is  indicated.  As  angels,  they 
are  supposed  to  be  Michael  and  Gabriel — an  impossibility, 


CHAPTERS  X-XII.—END  OF  IVARFARE  GREAT.        203 

since  they  are  expressly  called  "two  others,"  (2)  as  two  of  the 
holy  watchers  over  Israel,  but  of  rank  subordinate;  (3)  as  the 
"two"  who  afterwards  appeared  at  the  sepulchre  of  our  Lord, 
and  again  as  sent  from  the  ascension-cloud  to  comfort  the 
apostles.  As  vicn,  they  are  supposed  to  be  either  (i)  Enoch 
and  Elias,  or  Moses  and  Elias,  foretold  to  appear  at  the  time 
to  which  the  vision  here  refers,  therefore  "the  two  witnesses  of 
me,"  of  whom  the  Lord  speaks  as  testifying  to  the  Jews  in  the 
first  half  of  the  seventieth  week,  Rev.  xi:  3,  viz.,  the  "two" 
who  appeared  on  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration,  Luke  ix:  30. 
Most  regard  them  as  angels.  The  question  still  remains  an 
open  one. 

(2)  The  dialogue  between  the  linen-clothed  man  and  one  of 
the  "two" — a  conversation  introduced  for  Daniel's  benefit. 
One  of  the  "two"  asks  the  linen-clothed  man  "How  long  shall 
it  be  to  the  end  of  these  wonders?"  xii:  6,  i.e.,  "how  long 
from  the  invasion  of  Palestine  by  the  Antichrist,  xi:  40,  to  the 
Resurrection,  the  Deliverance,  and  the  Kingdom  and  Glory? 
The  two-fold  answer  is  (i)  that  "a  time,  two  times,  and  half  a 
time,"  1260  days,  shall  be  the  length  of  the  time,  and  (2)  that 
the  end  will  be  signalized  by  the  fact  that  whatever  "power" 
the  Jews  may  have  in  the  last  days,  it  shall  be  broken,  the  Jews 
helpless  in  the  hands  of  the  Antichrist,  with  whom  they  make 
alliance.  Anti-semitism  will  wax  to  triumph  among  the 
"powers,"  in  spite  of  the  counter  movement  to  rehabilitate  the 
Jewish  state.  Deut.  xxxii:  36-24;  Dan.  xii:  7.  Both  hands 
uplifted  to  heaven,  the  Linen-clothed  Man  swears  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  "  Other  Two,"  and  "  by  Him  that  liveth  forever," 
that  not  one  syllable  of  the  prophecy  shall  fail,  but  that  all 
shall  be  accomplished.  The  last  Invasion  of  the  Holy  Land 
shall  take  place,  the  Great  Tribulation  shall  come,  the  Jews 
shall  be  driven  to  the  wall,  Alichael  shall  stand  up,  the  holy 
dead  shall  be  raised,  Israel  be  delivered,  and  the  Antichrist 
destroyed.  By  the  life  of  God,  these  things  shall  be  so!  This 
is  tremendous  adjuration.  See  Deut.  xxxii:  40-43;  Rev.  x: 
5-7.     It  was  not  without  intense  significance  the  angel  had 


204  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

said  in  viii:  26,  that  "  the  vision  is  truth;  "  in  x:  i,  that  "  the 
word  is  truth;  "  in  x:  21,  that  Daniel's  book  is  a  "  Scripture  of 
truth;"  and  declares  in  xi:  2,  "I  will  show  thee  the  truth." 
And  not  without  the  same  deep  sig-nificance  does  he  further 
admonish  the  prophet,  yea,  command  him,  to  "close  the 
words,"  and  "seal  the  book,"  xii:  4,  and  declares  them  "closed 
and  sealed  till  the  time  of  the  end,"  xii:  9.  Yea,  more,  he 
crowns  the  whole  with  an  oath,  "by  the  living  God," — both 
hands  held  up — that  all  these  things  shall  be  accomplished," 
i.  e.,  that  none  of  them  is  fiction!  In  the  name  of  all  that  is 
sacred  and  solemn,  why  does  the  angel  thus  repeat  himself, 
exhausting  all  sanctions,  angelic  human  and  divine?  If  the 
writer  of  the  book  is  not  a  pious  impostor,  the  whole  book  is 
true  as  God  is  true,  and  not  a  Maccabean  novel,  as  our  modern 
Higher  Critics  would  have  it.  No  other  book  in  all  the  Bible, 
save  John's  apocalypse,  has  such  a  weight  of  attestation,  Rev. 
xxii:  18,  19.  The  "Vision"  is  "Truth,"  the  "Revelation," 
the  "  Writing- "  of  it,  the  very  "  words,"  the  "  book  "  itself. — 
all  is  "  Truth,"  God-sent,  angel-given,  Spirit-breathed,  ever- 
lasting "  Truth,"  closed,  sealed,  authenticated,  and  attested 
by  angels,  sworn  to  by  the  Lord  Himself,  and  transmitted  to 
our  times  to  be  studied  with  the  intensest  interest.  Had  criti- 
cism any  conscience  or  fear  of  God  before  its  eyes,  it  would 
quail  in  the  presence  of  such  transcendent  confirmation.  God 
the  Almighty,  thundering  from  heaven,  could  give  no  stronger 
demonstration  of  its  verity.  It  has  the  sanction  of  Father, 
Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  angels,  prophets,  Christ  and  His  apost- 
les, to  its  Chiliastic  doctrine,  and  is  established  by  no  less  than 
2,500  years  of  human  history. 

(3)  The  Perplexity  of  the  Prophet.  "  I  heard,  but  I  under- 
stood not.  Then  said  I,  O  my  lord,  and  what  shall  the  Aftcr- 
ncss  of  these  things  be?  "  xii:  8.  What  was  it  he  did  not  under- 
stand? Expressly,  he  declares,  he  "  understands  the  vision," 
x:  I.  What  perplexed  him  was  the  definition  of  the  time, 
given  by  the  Linen-Clothed  Man  in  xii:  7.  His  soul  had  been 
riveted  upon  the  Maccabean  persecution, xi:  30-35;  the  tyrant's 


CHAPTERS  X-XII.—END  OF  WARFARE  GREAT.        205 

character,  xi:  36-39,  and  the  invasion  of  the  Holy  Land,  xi: 
40-45.  He  knew  that  the  "  Time  "  of  that  horror  was  to  be 
"  2,300  evening--mornnig,"  or  1,150  days,  8:  14.  But  now  the 
announcement  of  the  time,  as  1,260  days,  xii:  7,  confounded 
him.  He  could  "  not  understand  "  how  1,150  could  be  1,260, 
or  how  the  "  Little  Horn  "  of  the  third  empire  could  be  the 
"  Little  Horn  "  of  the  fourth.  No  Higher  Critics  were  present 
to  show  him  how  things  so  different  are  identical!  Intent  only 
to  hear  the  angel  talk,  he  had  failed  to  see  the  double  person- 
ality, type  and  anti-type,  in  xi:  36-39,  or  understand  that  the 
great  Interval  lay  between  verses  39  and  40,  and  so  missed  the 
transition  from  the  one  to  the  other;  from  the  third  empire  to 
the  fourth.  Therefore  the  "  1260,"  xii:  7,  confounded  him. 
Confident  that  the  vision  in  VH  was  "truth,"  he  leaves  the 
mystery  to  God,  and  to  the  ages,  to  solve  his  perplexity,  and 
only  begs  to  know  what  the  ''afterness"  of  the  1260  shall  be? 
the  "afterness"  of  the  "wonders"  in  xii:  1-3 — what  shall  follow 
the  Resurrection  and  Israel's  deliverance.  It  is  one  of  our 
questions  to-day.  Curious  of  the  future,  his  pious  interest 
would  keep  the  angel  talking  forever.  Let  us  remember  that 
the  prophets  are  never  "interpreters'  of  the  visions  they  re- 
ceive, or  of  what  is  given  them  to  speak  to  others.  This  is 
that  in  2  Pet.  i:  20,  21.  They  are  simply  receivers,  announcers, 
and  searchers.  Angels,  moreover,  are  not  commentators  on 
their  own  communications,  but  simply  dictators.  The  mys- 
tery of  the  double  personality  here,  the  transition,  the  interval, 
was  reserved  to  be  developed  by  our  Lord,  Paul,  and  John, 
600  years  after. 

(4)  First  Dismissal  of  the  Prophet.  "  Go  thy  way,  Daniel, 
for  the  words  are  closed  up  and  sealed  to  the  time  of  the  end^ 
xii:  9.  Tenderly  the  angel  declines  to  protract  the  Revelation. 
He  recurs  to  the  thought  in  xii:  4,  expanding  it.  "  Many  shall 
be  purified,  and  made  i^'hite,  and  tried,  but  the  Wicked  shal  do 
wickedly.  And  none  of  the  Wicked  shall  understand,  but  the 
Wise  shall  understand,"  xii:  10.  Two  classes  of  persons  there 
shall  be  in  the  time  of  the  end,  the  "Wicked"  and  the  "Wise," 
The  world  will  not  all  be  converted  to  Christ.    Moreover  the 


2o6  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

Wicked,  in  spite  of  the  Day  of  the  Lord,  will  continue  to  prac- 
tice wickedness.  The  tribulation  that  refines  the  saints  will 
only  incrustate  the  ungodly.  The  fire  that  purifies  the  gold 
will  only  harden  the  clay.  For  that  reason  the  Wicked  will 
neither  study  nor  understand  the  Book  of  Daniel,  but  the  Wise 
will  do  both.  Clear  to  their  "inner  perception"  will  be  the 
necessity  of  the  tribulation  to  sift  God's  saints  from  the  world- 
loving  and  unbelieving  professors  of  religion,  and  to  test  their 
fidelity. 

(5)  The  Extension  of  the  Time.  "And  from  the  time  that 
the  daily  sacrifice  shall  be  taken  azvay  and  an  abomination  that 
makcth  desolate  be  set  up,  there  shall  be  1290  days.  Blessed  is 
he  that  waiteth  and  cometh  to  the  1335  days,"  xii:  11,  12. 
This  much  the  angel  concedes  to  Daniel's  further  curiosity. 
The  italicised  words  here,  and  in  the  section  above,  are  found 
also  in  viii:  12,  13,  and  xi:  31,  35,  where  the  vision  treats  of 
Antiochus.  From  this  fact  certain  interpreters,  both  evan- 
gelical and  rationalistic,  conclude  that  the  whole  section  in 
xii:  8-13,  refers  to  the  times  of  that  tyrant.  Undoubtedly, 
there  is  an  allusion  here  tO'  time  past,  since  the  angel  has  al- 
ready carried  the  prophet,  in  xii:  7,  into  the  remote  future. 
But  a  prediction  of  the  future  in  terms  of  retrospective  allusion 
to  a  prophey,  which  itself  is  typical  of  the  far  future,  in  no  way 
loses  its  own  futurity.  The  common  use  of  the  same  terms 
to  express  different  stages  in  the  development  of  Ijoth  proph- 
ecy and  history,  is  frequent  as  it  is  necessary.  It  springs  from 
the  organic  and  typical  relations  of  prophecy  and  history  alike. 
One  epoch  becomes  the  mirror  of  another. 

Gabriel's  answer,  in  xii:  9-13,  to  Daniel's  question  in  xii: 
8,  is  a  word  explaining  something  of  the  '\ifterness"  of  the 
1260  days.  Moreover,  the  angel  has  already  told  Daniel, 
in  ix:  2y,  that  "a  prince  to  come,"  at  the  seventieth  week, 
would  come  "on  wing  of  abomination,"  after  allowing  to 
the  Jews,  by  treaty,  the  practice  of  their  "daily  sacrifice," 
and  would  break  their  covenant  in  he  middle  of  the  week. 
The  deeds  of  Antiochus  would  be  repeated,  substantially, 
yet  in  variant  form.        "  An   abomination" — not  the  abomi- 


CHAPTERS  X-XII.—END  OF  WARFARE  GREAT.        207 

nation — would  be  set  up,  perhaps  the  image  of  the  Antichrist 
himself,  Rev.  xiii:  14.  The  "  time  of  the  end  "  would  be  ex- 
tended first  to  thirty,  then  to  forty-five  days  more  beyond  the 
1260.  Then  the  "blessed"  time  would  come.  That  no  ''bles- 
sed" time,  such  as  is  here  predicted  for  Israel,  followed  the 
"cleansing  of  the  temple,"  either  1290  or  1335  days  after  the 
act  of  Judas  Maccabaeus,  is  evident  from  the  Alaccabaean  his- 
tory. The  citadel  remained  in  the  hands  of  the  foe.  Two 
whole  years  foreign  armies,  100,000  strong-,  assaulted  Jeru- 
salem. Alliance  with  Rome  became  a  necessity  for  Jewish 
protection.  Israel's  apostasy  continued  and  culminated  in 
the  crucifixion  of  Christ,  the  second  destruction  of  the  temple, 
and  dispersion  of  the  nation.  The  six-fold  blessings  in  ix:  24 
were  never  realized. 

Ever  more  increasingly,  the  ablest  interpreters  regard  the 
thirty  days,  following  the  1260,  as  the  period  of  Judah's  na- 
tional repenatance,  Zech.  xii:  10-14;  xiii:  i,  their  baptism  by 
the  Spirit,  the  turning  of  their  mourning  into  joy,  and  the 
destruction  of  the  last  remainder  of  Gentile  power.  The  forty- 
five  days,  yet  further,  are  regarded  as  the  period  of  the  return 
of  the  residue  of  the  "dispersed"  and  the  "outcasts,"  brought 
back  by  Gentile  hands  after  the  Judgment-scenes  at  Jerusalem, 
and  by  those  who  have  "escaped"  from  that  catastrophe.  Isa. 
Ixvi:  20;  Zeph.  iii:  10,  19,  20;  Zech.  viii:  20-23.  Here  comes 
the  consecration  of  the  wealth  of  the  Gentiles,  to  rebuild,  en- 
large, and  beautify  the  Holy  City,  Isa.  Ix:  18-22;  Ixii:  1-12. 
This  the  "comfort"  for  Zion  at  the  close  of  her  long  warfare. 
Isa.  ii:  1-4;  Mica  iv:  1-4,  8,  13;  Isa.  Ixvi:  10-14.  Here  belong 
"  the  times  of  the  restoring  of  all  things,"  and  "  the  seasons 
of  refreshing,"  forespoken  by  the  prophets.  Acts  iii:  19-21 
(R.  V.)  the  period  of  the  six-fold  blessing  .in  Dan.  ix:  24,  the 
epoch  of  the  complete  reunion  of  all  Israel  in  their  own  land, 
and  their  recognition,  by  the  nations,  as  an  independent  king- 
dom, the  local  and  sustaining  centre  of  the  millennial  age. 
It  is  the  time  of  the  new  sunrise  over  Jerusalem.  "Arise,  shine, 
for  thy  light  is  come,  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  hath  risen 
upon  thee!"     Isa.  Ix:  i.     Here  belong  the  multitude  of  glow- 


2o8  D  AM  EL'S  CKEAT  PROPHECY. 

ing-  prophecies  in  the  Old  Testament,  concerning  Israel's 
latter-day  glory.  "  Via  crncis,  via  litcisl  Post  ioicbras  litxl"  It 
is  the  motto  of  all  prophecy! 

How  "blessed"  the  time  will  be,  and  "blessed"  the  man  who 
lives  or  wakes  to  see  it,  when  the  Lord  will  "apppear  in  His 
glory  and  bnild  up  Zion,"  "gathering-  the  outcasts,  healing  the 
/.roken  in  heart,  and  binding  their  wounds,"  only  a  pen  dipped 
-n  prophetic  fire  can  describe.     The  angel  pronounces  a  bene- 
diction and  beatitude  on  the  heirs  of  the  kingdom,  whom  he 
calls  "waiters"  for  it.     And  myriads  such  there  are  to-day, 
notwithstanding  "blindness  in  part  has  happened  unto  Israel." 
"  Hope  springs  eternal  in  the  Hebrew  breast."     There  is  for 
Zion  a  love  tender  and  sacred  in  the  heart  of  Israel,  such  as  we 
Gentiles  little  feel.     Magnificent  was  the  unstaggering  faith  of 
Sir  Moses  Montefiore:  "I  know  it!  I  am  certain  of  it!  Pal- 
estine, the  beauty-land,  now  desolate  , shall  yet  be  restored  to 
Israel.     The  Lord  has  spoken  it!"     Touching,  the  words  of 
Judah  Hallevi,  as  he  entered  the  city:  "  Prostrate  thou  art,  O 
Zion,  but  thy  glory  is  forever!     The  Eternal  has  chosen  thee. 
We  suffer  for  our  sins,  but  the  blessed  time  draws  near  when 
the  Lord  will  appear  in  His  glory.     Blessed  he  who  waits  in 
faith  to  behold  thy  rising  light!"     And  tender  and  sweet,  and 
enough  to  make  the  heart-strings  of  a  Gentile  vibrate,  are  the 
words  of  Judith  Mendelsohn,  as  with  tear-washed  cheeks  she 
uttered  them  when  taking  leave  of  the  city:    "  Blessed  be  the 
Lord,  the  God  of  Israel,  forever!     Farewell,  my  loved  Jerusa- 
lem!   The  fountain  of  our  tears  shall  ever  run  in  the  current 
of  our  prayers  and  our  thanksgiving.     Peace  be  within  thy 
walls!     One  day  we  shall  meet  again.     The  ransomed  of  the 
Lord  shall  return  and  come  to  Zion,  with  songs  and  everlast- 
ing joy  upon  their  heads!"     What  tenderness!     What  faith! 
What  hope!     What  love  and  devotion!     Courage,  oh  Israel! 
The  Lord  will  yet  have  mercy  on  thee — sinful,  but  not  for- 
saken!    "  Blessed  be  he  that  blcsseth  thee,  and  cursed  be  he 
that  curseth  thee!" 

(6)  Second  Dismissal  of  the  Prophet.     "  Go  thou  thy  way 


CHAPTERS  X-XII.—END  OP   WARPARE  GREAT. 


209 


til  the  end  shall  be,  for  thou  shalt  rest."  xii:  13.  The  linger- 
ing- prophet,  loth  to  leave,  is  again  admonished  to  retire.  It  is 
hard  to  part.  But  "Go  thou!"  The  GloriousOne  who  hovered 
over  the  Hiddekel  has  gone!  The  "two  others"  are  gone! 
The  vision  fades.  "  Go  thou  thy  way,"  the  way  of  the  right- 
eous. "  Go  till  the  end  shall  be — the  end  of  life,  with  all  its 
cares — "for  thou  shalt  rest" — a  holy  repose,  entering  into 
peace,  thy  body  in  its  bed,  thy  spirit — "walking  in  uprightness 
before  God."  Isa  .Ivii:  2.  Rest  till  the  end  of  Israel's  weary 
W'ay.  Finish  thy  Book.  Discharge  wdiat  remains  of  the 
duties  of  life.  Dismiss  all  anxious  thoughts.  Messiah  will 
come,  and  though  rejected,  wdll  come  again  and  be  accepted. 
Israel  shall  be  saved  with  an  everlasting  salvation,  never  to  be 
ashamed  or  confounded,  world  without  end!  Be  comforted, 
and  "  Go!" 

(7)  The  promise  of  the  Prophet's  Resurrection.  "Thou  shalt 
stand  in  thy  lot  at  the  end  of  the  days,"  xii:  13.  The  transi- 
tion from  a  reclining  posture  to  one  of  standing,  implies  a 
resurrection.  By  the  term  "lot"  is  meant  the  portion  of  the 
righteous.  The  allusion  here  is  to  the  redistribution  of  the 
Holy  Land,  as  given  by  Daniel's  contemporary,  Ezekiel. 
Judah's  "portion,"  to  which  tribe  Daniel  belonged,  lies  next 
to  the  "Holy  Oblation,"  near  the  sanctuary  from  whose  thresh- 
old the  "living  waters  "  flow,  and  near  the  "portion  of  the 
Prince,"  under  the  beams  of  the  Shekinah-Cloud.  Ezek. 
xlvv:  i;  xlviii:  8;  Isa.  iv:  5,  6.  By  the  "end  of  the  days"  is 
meant  the  end  of  the  1335 — not  the  time-point  of  resurrection, 
but  that  of  the  enjoyment  of  the  assigned  reward.  There 
Daniel  shall  "stand,"  justified,  sanctified,  glorified,  body  and 
soul,  a  witness  of  the  truth  of  his  predictions.  So  vanished  the 
vision  of  the  Hiddekel,  as  a  tableau  dissolves  before  the  gaze 
of  the  beholder,  and  nothing  remains  of  all  that  enchanted  his 
eyes.  The  prophet  is  left  alone — yet  not  alone,  for  the  sanc- 
tity and  memory  of  that  scene  never  faded  from  his  heart.  He 
died  in  hope  of  the  First  Advent  to  atone  for  sin,  and  of  the 
Resurrection  at  the  Second  Coming  of  Christ.    How  blessed 


2IO  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

to  him  was  life's  end!  How  glorious  the  hope  that  pillowed 
his  aged  head!  His  body  rests  to-day  among  the  "sleepers 
in  the  dust  of  the  earth,"  at  Shushan.  One  day,  when  Jesus 
comes,  he  shall  rise  again,  and  shine  in  the  glory!  ^lay  it  be 
ours  to  share  with  him  that  blest  transfiguration!  His  "lot" 
may  not  indeed  be  our  "lot,"  but  if  we  are  Christ's,  the  glory, 
though  of  different  degree,  shall  be  the  same,  for  "  we  know 
that  when  Christ  shall  appear  we  shall  be  like  Him,  for  we  shall 
see  Him  as  He  is!"    i  John  iii:  2.    This  is  ''Our  Hope.'' 


"  The  Age  of  Gold,  which  a  bhnd  tradition  has  placed  in  the  past, 
lies  before  us.  But  first  a  Phoenix  death-birth,  a  Palingenesis.  De- 
struction and  deliverance  go  together.  All  things  wax  old  and  roll 
onward.  Judgment  is  inevitable.  A  Millennium  or  reign  of  peace 
and  wisdom  iiaving  been  prophesied  of  old,  becomes  more  and  more 
indubitable.  If  our  era  is  the  era  of  unbelief,  why  murmur  at  it?  Is 
there  not  a  better  coming?  Thou  art  not  alone  if  thou  hast  faith. 
Hast  thou  a  genuine  love  of  truth?  Awake!  speak  forth  what  God 
hath  given  thee,  and  what  the  Devil  shall  not  take  away.  Higher 
priesthood  than  that  for  the  truth  has  been  allotted  to  no  man.  Re- 
nounce the  cavils  that  darken  into  doubt  and  then  denial.  Face  thou 
the  light,  since  otherwise  darkness  is  cast  upon  thy  sunshine,  that 
darkness  the  shadow  of  thyself!" — Carlyle. 


(212/ 


Chapter  XL 

SUMMATION.     OBJECTIONS.     CONCLUSION. 

What  the  book  of  Daniel  teaches  is  that,  because  of  Israel's 
apostasy,  the  Jewish  state  was  overthrown  and  the  sovereignty 
of  the  Hebrew  people,  whose  great  ancestor  became  "heir  of 
the  world  through  the  righteousness  of  faith,"  was  passed 
by  God's  decree  to  the  four  empires  of  Babylon,  ]\Iedo-Persia, 
Grseco-Macedonia  and  Rome,  and  to  the  several  kingdoms 
into  which  the  third  and  fourth  of  these  should  be  divided; 
and  signally  so  to  the  "  Little  Horn  "  out  of  the  third,  a 
type  of  the  "  Little  Horn "  of  the  fourth,  yet  to  appear. 
Thenceforward,  during  these  "  Times  of  the  Gentiles," 
the  Jews  should  ever  remain  under  the  Gentile  yoke, 
scattered  among  all  nations,  expatriated  from  their  home, 
without  an  organized  nationality,  and  only  saved  from 
their  subjection  at  the  second  coming  of  Christ,  upon 
their  repentance  and  faith,  and  after  sore  tribulation.  Then, 
and  only  then,  their  lost  sovereignty  should  revert,  their  king- 
dom be  restored  in  glory  greater  than  that  of  Solomon,  and 
made  the  local  and  sustaining  centre  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ 
in  victory  "underneath  all  heavens."  Thus,  the  ancient  people 
of  God,  converted  to  a  "holy  people"  in  the  highest  spiritual 
sense,  should  be  re-established  in  their  old  historical  relations 
to  the  nations  of  the  earth,  and  be  as  life  from  the  dead  to  the 
world. 

Many  are  the  important  lessons  here  taught;  among  them 
(i)  the  indestructibility  of  the  Jewish  race,  as  a  separate  un- 
amalgamated  people,  a  "generation  that  shall  not  pass  away;" 
(2)  the  destructibility  and  transient  character  of  all  the  em- 
pires and  kingdoms  of  the  world;  (3)  that  during  the  Times 

(213) 


214  DANIELS  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

of  the  Gentiles  the  triumph  of  the  kingdom  of  God  in  right- 
eousness and  peace,  underneath  all  heavens,  is  not  to  be  ex- 
pected; (4)  that  the  restoration  of  the  Jews  and  the  re-estab- 
lishment of  the  Jewish  state  are  as  little  to  be  expected,  until 
the  Jewish  people  have  been  turned  to  faith  in  Jesus  as  the 
true  Messiah,  and  resumed  the  central  doctrines  of  their  anci- 
ent creed,  as  taught  in  the  prophets,  and  professed  by  the  first 
disciples  in  the  holy  city;  (5)  that  the  time-point,  or  epoch,  of 
the  final  Jewish  elevation  is  the  time-point  of  the  final  des- 
truction of  all  Gentile  power,  viz.,  the  second  coming  of  Christ. 

One  by  one  the  prophet  sees  the  ancient  empires  pass  away, 
beginning  with  the  empire  of  Babylon,  Egypt  and  Assyria 
already  overthrown.  Babylon  endures  B.  C.  625  to  538,  or 
87  years,  and  is  also  overthrown  by  Cyrus;  Medo-Persia  538 
to  330,  or  20S  years,  and  is  overthrown  by  Alexander;  Grasco- 
Macedonia,  united,  then  divided,  336  to  146,  or  190  years,  and 
passes  to  the  Roman  power.  The  Roman  empire,  founded 
by  Augustus  B.  C.  28,  endures  in  its  Western  half  to  A.  D. 
476,  or  494  years,  and  in  its  Eastern  to  A.  D.  1453,  both  di- 
visions broken  up  into  independent  kingdoms  and  dependent 
states,  changed  by  the  sword  of  the  conqueror,  and  existing 
in  their  different  relations  to  the  present  day;  each  passing 
away,  like  those  of  Constantine  and  Theodosius,  of  Charle- 
magne and  the  Othos,  of  Louis  and  Napoleon; — the  Ottoman, 
with  all  the  kingdoms  of  Europe,  Asia  and  Africa,  fore- 
doomed like  the  rest  to  retire  from  the  scene  that  the  kingdom 
of  Christ  may  enter  victoriously  with  Israel's  kingdom  as  the 
centre  of  the  new  age.  In  vain  we  look,  according  to  the 
prophet,  for  the  triumph  of  truth,  righteousness  and  peace, 
jniblic  and  private,  in  this  jiresent  age.  The  entrance  of  Chris- 
tianity into  history,  notwithstanding  all  the  blessings  it  has 
Ijrought,  and  the  ameliorating  inlluence  of  its  peerless  and 
transforming  power, — has  not  changed  the  essential  nature  of 
the  W'orld-I'ower.  destroyed  Sin.  bound  Satan,  or  brought 
to  victor}'  universal  righteousness  and  peace. 

The  projjhet  beholds  the  conflict  ever  permanent  until  it 
culminates  in  the  closing  scenes  of  the  "Warfare  Great."    He 


SUMMATION.  215 

takes  account  of  the  kingdoms  of  this  workl  masquerading 
in  the  costume  of  a  nominal  Christianity.  He  sees  no  hope 
of  the  workl's  deUvcrance  from  its  evils,  under  such  condition, 
during  the  "  Times  of  the  Gentiles."  He  has  anticipated  the 
fact  that  when  Christianity  should  enter  history  and  come  to 
be  the  religion  of  princes  and  the  state,  in  place  of  Paganism 
and  the  old  idolatry,  it  would  be  embraced,  politically,  by  the 
Fourth  Empire,  and  the  Powers,  only  to  be  made  subservient 
to  their  temporal  interests.  He  foresaw  that  it  would  become 
a  military  Christianity,  a  force  employed  by  rulers  and  legisla- 
tors, as  a  means  of  subjugating  nations  to  their  sway,  and  that, 
under  the  pretense  of  giving  the  Religion  of  Christ  and  a  bet- 
ter civilization  to  the  world,  it  would  veil  the  rapacity  and 
lust  of  nominally  Christian  Powers,  seeking  temporal  domin- 
ion over  the  property  and  lives  of  men  less  powerful  than 
themselves,  and  so  "Christianize"  the  nations.  Plistory  has 
verified  his  foresight,  and  at  no  time  more  openly  than  now,  in 
the  standing  armies,  and  the  tleets,  of  the  Christian  world. 
The  "  Horns  "  fight  each  other.  That  militarism  will  pre- 
vail till  Christ  comes  is  the  teaching  of  the  prophet.  The 
Roman  empire  accepted  Christianity,  incorporated  the  Ten 
Commandments  and  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  in  the  Theo- 
dosian  code,  organized  the  "Christian  Legions,"  and  began 
the  work  of  "world-reform."  What  followed,  the  student  of 
history  knows— the  .Middle  Age,  the  Papal  power,  the  ^los- 
lem  holding  the  fairest  portions  of  the  earth  once  Christian, 
the  politics  of  Europe,  Asia  and  Africa,  even  now  governed 
by  the  same  motives  that  governed  the  ancient  heathen  em- 
pires. The  "Church"  does  not  enter  the  field  of  the  prophet's 
vision.  He  is  the  "Statesman"  of  Israel  and  the  world.  He 
sees  the  whole  future  of  Gentile  world-power  and  of  Jewish 
subjugation,  and  places  his  hope  alone  in  the  coming  of  Mes- 
siah. That  is  his  divine  philosophy  of  history.  As  for  him  in 
the  prospect,  so  for  us  in  the  retrospect,  the  story  of  the 
struggle  of  the  nations  remains  forever  the  same. 

'"Tis  but  the  same  rehearsal  of  the  Past, — 
First  Freedom,  and  then  Glory:  wlicn  that  fails, 
Wealtli.  Vice,  Corruption.  Barbarism  at  last, 
And  history  hath  but  one  page," 


2i6  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

The  old  empires  have  perished  from  the  earth,  and  over  their 
dull,  dark  sepulchres,  "  Dead  for  z<'a>it  of  RigJitcoitsucssJ'  is 
read  through  the  fog  that  dampens  the  grave  of  their  glory. 
Their  monuments  wake  only  the  reflection  that 

"  Hardly  the  place  of  their  antiquity, 
Or  note  of  those  great  monarchies  we  find, 
Save  in  their  dust,  a  verbal  memory, 
An  empty  name  is  left  behind." 

So  shall  it  be  with  modern  empires  and  kingdoms.  "Passing 
away,"  are  the  w^ords  the  winds  moan  over  their  dying  great- 
ness. Thoughtful  men — and  of  schools  the  most  opposite — a 
Brandis,  Hegel,  Rawlinson,  Macauley,  von  Mueller, — a  Gold- 
win  Smith  and  Sybel, — how  many  more,  have  recognized  the 
law.  They  vindicate  the  prophet's  view.  One  kingdom  alone 
is  everlasting. 

As  to  the  nature  of  the  conmiunication  made  to  Daniel,  it 
was  a  divine  message,  mediated  by  an  angel,  as  was  the  later 
case  with  John,  who,  however,  includes  the  "Church"  in  his 
apocalypse.  As  to  the  fonii.  it  is  an  apocalypse,  or  "secret 
revealed,"  Dan.  ii:  18,  19,  an  open  unveiling  of  the  future, 
by  means  of  plastic  images  or  symbols  presented  to  the  eye, 
with  their  divine  interpretation  to  the  ear;  a  series  of  realities 
to  be  fulfilled  in  history,  in  order  and  succession.  As  to  its 
contents,  they  are  Israel,  the  nations,  the  empires  and  king- 
doms of  the  world,  Messiah,  and  the  kingdom  of  God  in  con- 
llict  until  the  final  victory.  As  to  the  time,  it  is  the  entire 
march  of  history  from  B.C.  606,  to  the  second  coming  of 
Christ.  As  to  the  hrw  of  its  presentation,  it  is  that  of  advance 
to  the  end,  retrogression  to  the  beginning,  advance  again  to 
the  same  end,  retrogression  again  to  the  second  empire,  and 
advance  again  under  more  minute  development,  with  always 
something  new  till  the  final  vision  is  exhausted.  As  to  the 
End,  it  is  the  goal  or  limit,  of  (ientile  power  over  Israel,  the 
final  triumph  of  the  kingdom  of  God  underneath  all  heav- 
ens, in  connection  with  Israel's  deliverance  and  the  resurrec- 
tion of  the  holy  dead.     yVs  to  the  Clironology,  it  is  given  in  a 


SUMMATION.  217 

scheme  of  seventy  year-weeks,  with  their  included  intervals, 
reaching  from  B.  C.  538  to  the  Second  Coming  of  Christ;  with 
intervals  besides  in  the  various  prophecies.    Chief  among  these 
are  (i)  the  Interval  between  the  3d  and  4th  of  the  70  Weeks; 
(2)  between  the  45th  and  the  70th  Weeks;  (3)  between  the 
69th  and  70th  Weeks;  the  first  of  these  57  years,  the  second 
2,061  years,  the  third  1,827  years,  already.  All  from  Cyrus,  538 
to  the  Second  Advent,  is  covered  by   70  Weeks  that  enter 
into  all   New  Testament   prophecy,   and   govern  every   pro- 
phetic utterance  of  Christ  and  His  Apostles.    As  to  the  political 
significance  of  it,  for  our  times,  it  contains  the  whole  "Eastern 
Question"  in  politics,  and  its  final  solution.     As  to  the  Jezuish 
aspect  of  it,  it  exalts  the  importance  of  the  Jew  for  the  final 
triumph  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  on  this  present  earth.     The 
Book  opens  with  the  victorious  march  of  the  World-Power, 
under  Nebuchadnezzar,  against  the  Jews,  Jerusalem,  and  the 
Holy  Land,  and  closes  with  the  last  war-march  of  the  same 
Power   under  the   last   Antichrist,   against   the   same   people, 
city,  and  land,  ending  in  the  eternal  annihilation  of  the  form- 
er, and  the  eternal  triumph  of  the  latter.     As  to  the  sum  of 
it,  it  is  God's  own  Plan  for  the  development  of  His  Kingdom, 
crowned  with  the  Second  Coming  of  Christ.     ^lodern  World- 
Reformers  may  here  learn  the  wisdom  of  keeping  their  own 
theories  to  themselves,  while  doing  all  the  good  they  can. 

It  has  been  alreadv  noted,  and  must  be  borne  in  mind,  that 
the  Jlsion  of  Juds'ncnt,  in  Dan.  vii.,  is  not  that  of  all  mankind, 
quick  and  dead,  i.e.,  not  the  Last  Judgment,  but  the  Messian- 
ic Judgment  of  the  living  nations,  connected  with  Israel's  res- 
toration, and  the  resurrection  of  the  holy  dead.  The  "Na- 
tions" are  not  annihilated,  but  the  "Kingdoms"  are,  and  be- 
come the  kingdom  of  Christ,  the  nations  still  remaining. 
Rev.  xvi:  3,  4;  15-18;  Dan.  vii:  2y:  ii:  44-  The  sovereignty 
of  the  Gentiles  is  indeed  taken  away,  but  the  "Nations" 
are  saved,  through  the  destruction  of  that  sovereignty.  They 
sur\'ive  the  loss  of  their  dynasties,  recognize  the  supremacy 
of  Israel,  and  the  eternal  sovereignty  of  Jesus  Christ.  His 
Kino-dom  comes,  not  only  as  a  reign,  but  as  a  realm,  wide 


2i8  DANIELS  GREAT  PROniECY. 

as  the  world.  Here  are  seen  the  import  and  solemn  grandeur 
of  the  advent,  for  the  world,  viz.,  that,  whereas,  at  the  first 
advent  only  a  few  beheld  the  Son  of  Man,  and  in  humiliation, 
now,  "every  eye  shall  see  Him,"  and  in  His  glory.  Then, 
".Vll  nations  shall  come  and  w'orship  before  Him."  Rev.  xvi: 
3,  4.  The  aim  of  the  whole  judgment  is  to  ''magnify''  and 
"sanctify''  God's  great  name,  "in  the  eyes  of  all  nations." 
All  the  miracles  recorded  in  the  historical  portions  of  the  Book 
of  Daniel,  and  the  resulting  "decrees"  of  Xebuchadnezzar, 
Cyrus,  and  Darius,  were  designed  to  be  pledges  of  this.  All 
the  predictions  fore-announce  the  same  result.  The  Lord  in- 
tends to  smite  the  pride  of  all  Clentilc  politics  and  power,  and 
overturn  all  Gentile  kingdoms,  as  in  the  days  of  old.  He  means 
"to  bring  down  the  mean  man,  and  humble  the  mighty  and 
the  eyes  of  the  lofty,"  so  that  "the  Lord  of  Hosts  shall  be 
exalted  in  judgment,  and  God,  the  Holy  One,  be  sanctified 
in  righteousness."  Isa.  v:  16.  No  concert  of  the  'Tozccrs"  can 
countervail  this  oracle,  or  stay  His  hand.  "  Thus,"  says  God, 
"will  I  iiiagiiify  myself,  and  sajiciify  myself,  and  I  will  be 
known  in  the  eyes  of  many  nations,  and  they  shall  know  that 
I  am  the  Lord."  Ezek.  xxxviii:  23;  xxxix:  25-29.  On  such 
texts  did  the  mind  of  the  Saviour  rest,  as  on  Daniel's  book, 
when  teaching  His  disciples  to  pray,  "  Our  Father  who  art  in 
heaven,  hallowed  be  Thy  name;  Thy  kingdom  come;  Thy 
will  be  done  on  earth,  as  it  is  in  heaven."  Matth.  vi:  9,  10; — 
petitions  that  will  never  be  fulfilled  underneath  all  heavens, 
till  the  Lord  comes. 

It  is  through  judgment  this  great  consummation  is  achiev- 
ed. It  comes  with  the  solution  of  the  world's  greatest  problem 
— that  concerning  the  political  condition  of  the  ancient  people 
of  God.  Like  all  other  prophets,  Daniel,  under  the  imagery 
of  the  10  Horns,  foretells  the  final  conflict  through  which 
Israel's  lost  sovereignty  shall  be  restored.  The  conception  of 
a  sfreat  battle  in  which  the  assembled  Gentile  Powers  shall 
be  defeated  at  Jerusalem,  in  the  end  of  the  age,  by  the  inter- 
vention of  Israel's  own  Messiah,  is  the  conce]ition  everywiiere 
from  Moses  to  Malachi,  and  frcjni  Matthew  to  the  Revelation 


SUMMATION.  219 

by  John.  The  prophet,  Daniel  presents  it  under  the  subhnicst 
and  most  terrifie  synilxihsni,  as  the  elosint;-  aet  in  the  drama 
of  the  "Warfare  Great."  It  is  then,  when  the  Cloud-Comer 
eomes,  all  Gentile  empires  are  broken  as  a  potter's  vessel,  and 
Israel's  kingdom  rises  on  the  ruins  of  them  all. 

He  is  a  poor  seholar  in  the  study  of  the  Scriptures  who  has 
failed  to  see  the  deep  inner  connection  between  eschatology 
and  the  Messiah-doctrine,  in  both  Testaments.   A  disembodied 
state  in  heaven  is  not  the  end  of  the  ways  of  God.    The  wdiole 
earth  shall  be  filled  with  His  glory.     Through  successive  sta- 
dia  His   kingdom  comes,   with   mighty   changes   among   the 
nations,  till  the  last  catastrophe  is  reached.     Men  cannot  arbi- 
trate the  "  Day  of  the  Lord  "  out  of  the  Book  of  God.    We  can 
no  more   dissociate   eschatology   from   the    ^lessiah-doctrine, 
than   we   can   dissociate   Messiah   from   the   kingdom.        His 
work  was  not  all  completed  at  His  first  coming.     Prophecy 
provides  the  ground-lines  of  the  whole  movement  in  connec- 
tion with  a  calculus  of  time  that  passes  from  the  Old  Testa- 
ment into  the  New.    If  it  is  true  that,  in  science,  indestructibil- 
ity of  matter,  persistence  of  force,  and  continuity  oi  motion, 
are  essential  axioms  of  development,   and   that   the   last  im- 
])ctus  is  from  the  heterogeneous  back  to  the  homogeneous, 
from   diversity   to   unity,    conflict   to   rest,    through    age-long 
transformations,  these  are  no  less  true  of  history  and  the  king- 
dom of   God.      Long  before   science   announced  these,  God's 
Word  revealed  them,  and  built  all  prophecy  upon  them.     Heb. 
xi:  3.    Acts  xvii:  26-28.    It  is  to  the  crisis  of  the  second  advent 
the  prophet  looks  when  the  world  will  change  front  and  a  new 
age  heave  into  history.     The  kingdom  is  indestructible,  the 
force  is  persistent,  the  motion  is  continuous.     The  result  of 
the  crisis  will  be  the  union   of  Jew   and   Gentile   in  the   one 
kingdom-  of  God  on  earth,  discord  giving  way  to  peace,  in- 
iquity to  righteousness,  evil  to  good,  and  the  breath  of  univer- 
sal benevolence  will  salute  all  mankind.        God's  name  will 
be  "magnified"   and  "sanctified,"     "the   Name  that   is  above 
cverv  name,"  be  on  the  lips  of  all,  and  God's  will  "be  done  on 
earth  as  it  is  in  heaven."    To  this  "one  event,"— not  "far  ofif," 


220  DANIELS  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

— "the  whole  creation  moves!"  The  plan,  the  view,  the  process 
of  becoming,  the  way,  the  end,  are  as  "scientific"  as  thcv  are 
Biblical. 

If  therefore,  we  ask  ourselves  what  the  prophet  Daniel  has 
done,  the  answer  is  easy.  He  has  unveiled  the  plan  of  God, 
foretold  the  course  of  empire,  and  Israel's  way.  down  to  the 
end  of  our  present  age,  with  a  glorious  kingdom  following. 
As  to  the  "  Time  of  the  End,"  he  has  predicted,  { i)  the  final 
partition  of  the  territory  of  the  fourth  or  Roman  empire,  an 
empire  still  existing  in  its  divided  state;  (2)  the  Interval  be- 
tween the  first  and  second  comings;  (3)  the  last  Antichrist; 
(4)  his  deeds  and  his  destruction;  (5)  the  wreck  of  all  Gentile 
politics  and  power;  (6)  the  conversion  and  restoration  of  the 
Jews;  (7)  the  resurrection  of  the  holy  dead,  and  final  triumph 
of  the  kingdom, — all  these  in  connection  with  the  second  com- 
ing of  Christ.     This  brief  summation  is  sufficient. 

"Objections"  abundant  there  are  from  every  side  tO'  Daniel's 
doctrine,  which  is  that  of  all  the  prophets,  of  Christ  and  His 
apostles,  as  to  every  other  doctrine  of  the  Word  of  God, — 
"objections"  as  numerous  as  they  are  worthless.  It  belongs 
to  the  truth  of  God  that  it  always  gives  occasion  for  "objec- 
tions," and  is  never  "received"  until  the  heart  is  subdued  to 
recognize  its  authority  above  the  prejudices  and  the  vain  in- 
terpretations of  men.  The  "difficulty"  is  not  in  the  head,  but 
in  the  heart,  and  its  normal  disposition  toward  the  truth  it  dis- 
likes. "Unto  the  upright  there  ariseth  light  in  darkness."  The 
chief  "objection"  is  to  the  "Truth"  itself,  and  here  to  the 
truth  of  the  pre-millennial  advent  of  Christ — the  "Chiliasm" 
of  Daniel's  book,  as  also  of  John's  Apocalypse — blind  to  the 
fact  that  it  is  the  "Chiliasm"  of  the  whole  Bible.  To  discuss 
the  objections  would  be  to  write  a  large  volume.  It  is  not 
necessary.  Truth  once  established  by  the  word  of  God,  ob- 
jections arc  nothing, — least  of  all  the  common-place  that  the 
pre-millennial  doctrine  "disparages  the  means  of  grace,  the 
mission  of  the  clnu-cli,  and  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit,'  " — 
an  objection  which  aniDunts  to  this,  that  the  W'ord  of  God 
disparages  itself!     That  the  second  coming  of  Christ  precedes 


SUMMATION. 


221 


the  victory  of  His  kingdom  "underneath  ah  heavens"  is  as 
certain  as  that  the  sunrise  precedes  the  day,  o-r  that  the  first 
advent  preceded  the  setting  up  of  the  kingdom  on  its  spiritual 
side  in  conflict.  The  sequence  of  the  kingdom  on  the  advent 
to  set  it  up  in  conflict  in  undeniable.  The  sequence  of  the 
kingdom  on  the  advent  to  set  it  up  in  victory  "underneath 
all  heavens"  is  not  less  evident.  And  as  that  kingdom  in 
victory  is  the  millennial  kingdom,  the  second  advent  is  pre- 
millennial.  The  kingdom  in  victory  follows  that  advent  as 
inevitably  as  the  fall  of  the  Colossus  follows  the  Stone's 
impact  on  its  toes,  and  as  the  destruction  of  the  Antichrist 
follows  the  second  coming  of  the  Son  of  Man,  Nothing  is 
more  clear.  What  obscurity  of  vision  not  to  see  that  none 
of  the  "objections"  made  against  the  nature  of  the  advent,  the 
kingdom,  or  the  thousand  years,  touch  the  question  of  the 
scqucnee  of  these  upon  the  fact  of  the  advent!  Let  the  king- 
dom be  what  it  may,  its  sequence  remains  undisturbed.  Nor 
is  any  truth  more  clear  than  this,  viz.,  that  no  advent  of  Christ 
could  be  aught  else  than  pre-millennial.  "He  is  before  all 
things."  For  he  who  holds  that  the  "thousand  years"  have 
already  been,  are  now,  or  yet  will  be  before  the  second  com- 
ing of  Christ,  must  hold  that  the  first  advent  is  pre-millennial. 
And  he  who  holds  that  the  book  of  Daniel  is  truth  must  hold 
that  the  kingdom  "underneath  all  heavens"  follows  the  second 
advent,  and  the  thousand  years  are  closed  by  the  last  judg- 
ment and  final  New  Heaven  and  Earth.  Did  forty  advents 
and  ages  exist  antecedent  to  "the  thousand  years,"  whose 
starting  point  is  fixed  by  all  the  prophets,  Christ,  and  His 
apostles,  at  the  close  of  the  last  great  tribulation  and  Israel's 
national  conversion,  each  and  all  would  be  pre-millennial. 
In  any  case  the  advent  is  pre-millennial.  The  only  escape 
is  to  deny  the  word  of  God,  and  say  the  millennium  may 
occur  in  any  age.  or  that  there  is  no  millennial  age  and  no 
sequence  in  the  case,  or,  like  those  who  were  confronted  with 
the  question  as  to  John's  baptism,  answer,  "We  cannot  tell." 
But  an  intellect  that  "cannot  tell"  whether  the  Colossus  falls 
before  or  after  it  is  struck  by  the  Stone,  or  whether  the  Anti- 


222  .DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

christ  is  destroyed  before  or  after  the  coming  of  the  Son  of 
Man  in  the  clouds  of  heaven,  or  whether  the  "kmgdoni  un- 
derneath all  heavens"  is  "given  to  the  saints"  before  or  after 
that  impact  and  that  destruction,  is  incompetent  to  teach  the 
word  of  God.  The  vital  (juestion  and  core  of  the  whole  debate 
is  whether  the  vision  in  IJaniel  vii.  is  a  true  prophecy  and 
teaches  the  literal  second  coming  of  Jesus  Christ.  It  is  not  the 
intellect,  however,  that  denies,  but  the  moral  disposition 
toward  the  truth, — the  prejudice,  the  preconceived  opin- 
ion. The  fact  is  that  the  sequence  is  denied  only  be- 
cause it  is  seen,  and  prepossession  refuses  to  admit  it. 
Other  considerations,  unworthy  of  a  teacher  of  the  truth,  pre- 
vail with  not  a  few  to  resist  it.  The  sequence  is  as  clear  as  a 
first  truth  in  consciousness, — as  "I  think," — "I  exist."  It  is  a 
datum  in  prophecy,  something  gizrii,  not  left  to  deduction  or 
induction,  an  indemonstrable,  self-evident  and  necessary  truth 
in  revelation, — not  a  nebula  dimlv  discernible,  but  a  thing  so 
obtrusively  prominent  and  present,  that  he  who  denies  it  mus* 
first  have  extinguished  the  light,  then  put  out  his  own  eyes. 
All  methods  of  escape  are  vain.  The  "  Truth"  remains  in  spite 
of  all.  It  is  curious  to  say  that  the  millennial  age  when  "war 
is  no  more,"  has  been  in  the  past,  is  now,  or  ever  w\\\  be,  be- 
fore the  close  of  the  "Warfare  Great," — a  warfare  extendmg 
to  the  destruction  of  the  Antichrist  at  the  second  coming  of 
Christ.  It  is  more  than  curious,  it  is  comical,  to  sav  that 
the  final  New  Heaven  and  Earth  which,  admittedly, 
come  only  after  the  second  advent,  arc  "the  i,ooo  years" 
or  millennial  age,  but  that  the  advent  is  not  /rr-millennial ! 
And  worse  than  all,  it  is  unpardonable  to  say  that,  because 
the  Kingdom  of  Christ  is  spiritual,  it  therefore  cannot  be  an 
outward  polity,  sovereignty  and  realm,  on  this  present  earth, 
but  must  denote  the  reign  and  rest  of  the  saints  "in  heaven," 
when  the  prophet  expressly  declares — an  angel  prompting 
him, — that  it  is  "underneath  all  heavens!"  To  dissolve  the 
"Kingdom"  into  spiritual  iiizcardiicss  alone,  is  to  deny  one 
half  of  divine  prophecy. 

Let  it  be  remembered,  then,  that  the  kingdom  is  an  outward 


SUMMATION.  223 

"realm"  and  "royalty,"  as  well  as  an  inward  rule  of  grace  in 
the  heart,  and  that  in  it  are  found  "the  kings  of  the  earth," 
and  "all  nations,"  reconstructed  under  the  sceptre  of  Christ 
"the  only  Potentate,"  "King  of  Kings  and  Lord  of  Lords." 
The  proud  titles  of  the  ancient  monarchs,  blazing  on  the  mon- 
uments that  tell  their  pride.  He  takes  to  Himself,  and  places 
tiieir  diadems  upon  His  head.    The  advent  of  Christ  does  not 
mean  denationalization.     The  restoration  of  Israel's  kingdom 
does  not  mean  a  narrow  Jewish  particularism,  but  a  universal- 
ism  wide  as  the  world,  and  of  intensest  spirituality,  righteous- 
ness, truth,  peace,  and  holiness.     Messiah's  kingdom  in  vic- 
tory is  not  His  reign  over  an  unorganized  mass  of  spiritual  hu- 
manity, without  a  nation  or  a  government,  but  a  kingdom 
where  civil,  social,  political,  municipal,  and  state  relations,  in 
public  and  private  life,  will  tind  their  highest  satisfaction,  and 
where  science,  art,  literature,  industry,  capital  and  labor,  and 
even  sanitary  regulations,  will  be  governed  by  the  letter  and 
the  spirit  of  His  gospel.     \\'hen  the  Roman  empire  came  to 
Palestine,  it  came  also  to  Spain,  Gaul,  the  British  Isles,  the 
East,  West,  and  civilized  world.     So,  when  the  kingdom  of 
Christ  shall  come  in  victory  to  the  Holy  Land,  it  will  come 
to  all  nations.    Expressly,  the  reign  of  the  saints  is  declared  to 
he  a  "reign  on  the  earth"  (not  over  it).  Rev.  v:  10.     God's  will 
is  "done  on  the  earth."    The  saints  "reign  with  Christ  a  thous- 
and years,"  Rev.  xx:  6.     It  is  then  "the  Lord  of  Hosts  shall 
reign  in  Mount  Zion,  even  at  Jerusalem,  before  His  ancient 
ones,  gloriously,"  Isa.  xxiv:  23.     Once  more,  Jerusalem  shall 
be  the  center  of  attraction.  Isa.  ii:  2-4;  Mic.  iv:   i,  2;  Zech. 
ii:   II,   12;  Rev.  xx:  ix.     A  Shekinah-Light  will  crown   the 
city.  Isa.  iv:   1-6.     "They  shall  call  Jerusalem  the  throne  of 
the  Lord."    Jer.  iii:  17.  "In  that  day  His  resting-place," — here 
on  the  earth, — "shall  be  glorious,"  Isa.  xi:  10,  and  "the  place 
of  His  throne,  and  of  the  soles  of  His  feet,  and  of  His  holy 
name,"  shall  be  "holy,"  Ezek.  xliii:  7.    The  city  that  was  spir- 
ituallv  called  "Sodom  and  Egypt"  shah  be  called  "Beulah. 
Ilepzibah,  a  city  sought  out  and  not  forsaken,"  Isa.  xlii:  4,  12. 
"The  name  of  the  city,  from  that  day,  shall  be  called  Jchozvh 


224  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

Shammah,  flic  Lord  is  there f'  Ezek.  xlviii:  35,  Isa.  lix: 
20;  Ix:  I,  10,  14,  15.  21;  Ixii:  1-12.  A  luuulred  "ob- 
jections" may  fly  forth  from  their  quivers,  impotent  to  pierce 
the  word  of  God.  "The  day  will  declare"  the  truth, 
One  thing  is  certain,  the  spirituality  of  the  kingdom 
is  not  destroyed  by  its  terrene  locality  nor  is  there  any 
evidence  that  the  King  is  confined  either  to  a  throne  in 
the  heavens,  or  to  a  throne  on  the  earth.  His  motion  is  free. 
Glorified  in  His  transfiguration.  He  moved  among  the  unglor- 
ified.  Risen  from  the  dead.  He  showed  Himself  alive  to  His 
disciples.  Nor  were  they  less  spiritual  because  of  His  presence 
among  them,  "speaking  of  the  things  pertaining  to  the  king- 
dom of  God."  Acts,  i:  3.  Our  duty  is  to  dismiss  all  doubts, 
believe  the  word  of  God,  and  give  Him  the  glory.  To  do  this 
is  an  achievement  in  our  present  age. 

From  all  that  has  been  said,  it  is  manifest  that  the  Millen- 
nial Age  does  not  lie  in  the  "Times  of  the  Gentiles,"  there- 
fore not  in  the  Church-period  at  any  time.  That  period  is 
described  by  our  Lord,  twice,  in  the  clearest  manner,  (i)  in 
His  Olivet  discourse,  Matth.  xxiv:  4-29;  (2)  in  His  seven 
words  to  the  seven  churches  of  Asia  Minor,  Rev.  ii:  1-29; 
iii:  1-22;  in  both  cases  a  period  wholly  dififerent  from  the 
I)criod  of  the  kingdom  in  victory.  Rev.  xi:  15;  xvi:  2-4;  xx: 
1-6.  If  John  has  used  the  phrase,  "the  1,000  years,"  it  was 
simply,  as  Professor  Ewald  well  says,  "because  it  was  a  tech- 
nical expression  for  the  glowing  period  described  by  the 
prophets,  a  name  already  well-established,  steadfast,  and  a 
matter  of  well-grounded  expectation."  So,  Professor  Dorner 
adds,  with  truth,  "Undoubtedly,  the  thing  common  to  both  the 
Jewish  and  the  Christian  apocalypses  is  the  period  of  the  i.ooo 
years,  commencing  with  the  second  advent."  We  need  not 
dwell  on  this.  What  we  need  to  guard  against  is  the  great 
error  that,  because  the  "Church"  is  not  the  "kingdom"  in  vic- 
tory, therefore,  the  kingdom  as  foretold  by  the  prophets,  is 
not  here  now,  in  any  sense,  but  only  comes  at  the  second  com- 
ing of  Christ.  On  the  contrary,  the  Messianic  kingdom  was 
SPt-up,  on  its  spiritual  side,  at  the  first  advent,  in  conflict,  and 


SUMMATION.  225 

we  are  "translated  into  it,"  by  renewal  from  the  Holy  Spirit 
and  our  faith  in  Christ.  It  came  in  the  person  of  Christ,  in  His 
blessed  Gospel,  in  the  power  of  the  Spirit  and  in  the  preach- 
ing of  the  Apostles.  It  is  the  sum  of  all  spiritual  good,  all 
grace  here,  with  the  promise  of  all  glory  hereafter.  To  seek 
it,  is  our  first  necessity.  To  enter  it  is  our  salvation.  It  is 
pardon  of  sin,  peace  with  God,  and  life-eternal.  And  yet  the 
conception  of  the  kingdoni,  in  the  teaching  of  Christ,  is  so 
great  and  manifold,  that  it  cannot  be  defined  but  only  describ- 
ed. No  logical  definition  is  adequate.  The  predicate  is  too 
immense.  The  kingdom  is  "like"  a  hundred  different  things. 
It  has  many  phases,  forms,  and  spheres.  It  is  inner  and  spirit- 
ual; outer  and  material;  moral  and  pofitical.  It  is  individual 
and  national.  It  is  earthly  and  heavenly.  It  is  temporal  and 
eternal.  It  is  mixed  and  separate.  It  is  past,  present,  and  to 
come.  Circumstantially  it  is  many.  Essentially  it  is  one.  It 
is  the  administration  of  the  rule  of  God  in  Christ  over  heav- 
en, earth,  and  hell.  Its  realization,  here,  is  the  doing  of  the 
will  of  God  on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven.  Incomplete  now,  it 
is  destined  to  perfection  hereafter.  "The  1,000  years"  are  but 
its  future  evolution,  mediated  by  the  second  coming  of  Christ. 
Its  conflict  now  is  the  postulate  of  its  triumph  then.  To  ablate 
this  "blessed  hope"  is  to  call  the  church  to  a  battle  for  the 
world's  salvation  without  the  certainty  of  victory.  It  is  to 
make  Paul's  argument  in  his  letter  to  the  Romans,  chapters 
ix-xi;  and  his  exclamation,  "O  the  depths!"  the  outgush  of  a 
deluded  mind,  and  the  "Hallelujahs"  in  John's  apocalypse, 
the  wild  ejaculations  of  an  excited  dreamer. 

The  light  of  science  should  have  taught  us  better.  The 
orderly  succession  of  the  ages  and  sequences  of  dispensations, 
in  a  grand  march  to  ultimate  perfection,  is  a  law  as  absolute 
as  in  the  cosmos  and  the  kingdoms  of  nature  and  of  history. 
Evolution  indeed,  yet  not  without  divine  intervention.  Acts, 
xvii:  26-28.  The  procession  from  the  rude  beginnings  of  in- 
organic being  to  the  elementary  forms  of  organized  existence, 
thence  more  complex  in  vast  unfoldings  and  transformations, 
mediated  by  catastrophe,  and  the  introduction  of  new  forces. 


226  DANIELS  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

is  not  more  true  in  geology,  astronomy,  and  biology,  than  in 
revelation,  prophecy,  and  history.  The  same  law  operates 
in  all,  that  of  "development," — a  word  that  involves  three  dis- 
tinct ideas  (i)  "tollcrc/^  to  take  away,  or  abolish,  (2)  "prcscr- 
ivrc,"  to  preserve,  (3)  "clcvarc,"  to  elevate  or  raise  to  a  higher 
plane,  a  higher  life,  and  so  bring  to  perfection.  A  score  of 
instances  present  themselves  as  illustrations  of  this  law, — the 
growth  of  the  child,  the  growth  of  a  plant,  the  growth  of  a 
civil  constitution,  the  growth  of  a  doctrine,  the  growth  of  a  na- 
tion to  its  maturity  and  highest  bloom.  What  is  chang- 
ing and  ephemeral  in  form,  passes  away,  while  what  is  sub- 
stantial, essential  and  enduring,  moves  onward  and  upward, 
through  sunshine  and  storm,  ever  in  conflict,  ever  opposed, 
yet  finally  victorious,  "So  is  the  kingdom  of  God."  The  con- 
ception constitutes  the  grandeur  of  the  whole  book  of  Daniel, 
as  of  all  revelation.  Of  the  eternal  ages  before  our  present 
cosmic  order,  as  of  the  eternal  ages  after  the  regenesis  of  the 
planet,  we  can  only  speak  as  "ages  of  ages,"  infinitely  back- 
ward and  forward.  Between  these  lie  the  Biblical  ages  or 
dispensations,  known  to  history,  the  antediluvian,  the  post- 
diluvian, the  Mosaic,  the  Messianic  age  in  conflict,  the  r^Ies- 
sianic  or  Millennial  age  in  victory,  each  of  these  characterized 
at  its  beginning  by  some  self-revelation  of  Christ,  pre-incarnate 
or  incarnate.  "The  Ultimate  Age"  we  call  the  "Endless  Age," 
only  because  the  curtain  of  the  future  here  drops,  and  the 
line  of  succession  is  concealed  from  view.  And  yet  it  is  "unto 
ages  of  ages,  world  without  end,  Amen!"  What  cycles  lie 
beyond!  How  vast  the  contemplation! — the  one  great  aim  of 
all  being  the  sanctification  of  God's  great  name,  the  immortal- 
ization of  man,  body  and  soul  together,  the  glory  of  Christ, 
the  perfection  of  the  planet,  "God  all  in  all!"  Therefore,  to 
blend  in  one  historically  what  is  seen  oftentimes  in  one  pro- 
jhciicaUy,  is  to  misuse  prophecy,  annihilate  both  time  and 
space,  confound  the  ages  and  the  ends,  and  disregard  the  clear 
distinction  between  them  which  later  prophecy  has  made  so 
plain.  It  is  to  abuse,  by  our  littleness  and  short-sightedness, 
what  was  meant,  on  the  one  hand,  to  enable  us  to  grasp  the 


SUMMATION.  227 

total  future  as  a  unit,  and  on  the  other,  to  comprehend  the 
ordered  and  majestic  march  of  the  kingdom  through  diiTerent 
stadia  of  development,  from  conflict  to  victory.  It  is  to  lose 
that  sublime  conception  of  the  apostle  who  says  that  "By  faith 
we  understand  that  the  ages  w^ere  articulated  (to  each  other  in 
succession),  by  the  Word  of  God,  so  that  the  things  which  are 
seen  did  not  become  from  the  things  that  do  appear,"  Heb.  xi: 
3.  The  forces  and  varying  forms  of  all  started  backward  from 
the  infinite  past,  and  reach  forward  into  the  infinite  future. 
Herein  lies  the  W'hole  Biblical  and  scientific  strength  of  the 
Chiliastic  doctrine. 

Therefore,  at  the  close  of  a  long  life  devoted  to  the  study  of 
God's  Word,  and  having  prayed  that  He,  who  alone  can  open 
the  eyes  of  the  blind,  would  vouchsafe  that  mercy  to  me,  as 
He  did  to  Bartimseus,  and  the  two  wanderers  to  Emmaus,  do 
I  desire  to  leave  on  record  my  unalterable  conviction  of  the 
truth  of  the  pre-millennial  doctrine,  a  doctrine  no  other  than 
this,  that  the  second  coming  of  Christ  precedes  the  millennial 
kingdom  "underneath  all  heavens," — a  doctrine  for  which  the 
prophet  Daniel  stood  at  the  Babylonian  and  Persian  courts, 
winning  glory  for  God,  and  honor  for  himself  and  his  friends. 
It  is  not  that  a  man's  convictions  are  either  the  measure  or  the 
test  of  "Truth,'  or  his  emotions  a  proof  that  his  creed  is  right. 
The  Holy  Spirit  often  dwells  in  sanctifying  power  where  He 
does  not  dwell  as  an  illuminating  power  in  the  deep  things  of 
God,  and  time  embalms  the  errors  it  does  not  destroy,  and 
creeds  are  propagated  from  father  to  son.  But  it  is  that  the 
long,  prayerful,  and  independent  study  of  the  truth, — with  a 
sincere  desire  to  know  it, — and  a  heart  honest  enough  to  re- 
ceive it, — does  bring  with  it  a  self-evidencing  and  self-inter- 
i:)reting  light,  by  which  the  truth  is  sealed  to  the  conscience  in 
the  sight  of  God,  with  a  certitude  transcending  all  conject- 
ures, and  superior  to  all  the  changes  of  human  feeling. 
— an  "assurance  of  understanding"  in  the  mystery  of  God. 
It  is  that  the  truth,  like  its  Author  is  invincible.  The 
question  is  not  what  "views"  do  I  hold,  but  what 
"views"    hold    me,    and    what    their    ground,    and    whence 


2  28  DAX/EL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

their  origin?  In  the  words  of  Augustine,  "it  matters  not  what 
/  say,  what  you  say,  what  he  says,  but  what  saith  the  Scripfitrc!" 
And  as  to  the  "meaning"  of  the  Scripture,  which  is  the  Script- 
ure, an  interpretation  that  runs  organically  current,  from  the 
Pentateuch  to  the  Revelation  by  John,  and  is  simply  a  self- 
developing  statement  consistent  and  harmonious,  amid  a 
hundred  variations  and  expansions,  each  prophet  and  apostle 
leading  up  to  the  same  objective  point,  and  final  focus  of  the 
truth, — the  [Master  confirming  all, — is  absolutely  infallible, 
and  never  can  be  set  aside,  so  long  as  the  \\'ord  of  God  en- 
dures. Like  the  encircling  concave  mirrors  of  Archimedes,  so 
placed  as  to  flash  their  converging  lights  in  front  of  them, 
so  stand  the  books  of  the  Bible, — that  effulgent  focus,  the 
glorious  second  coming  of  Christ.  He  who  fails  to  see  it,  only 
fails  because  his  vision  is  perverted.  The  insight  of  sucli 
truth  is  supplied  alone  by  the  "Spirit  of  Truth"  who  gave  the 
sacred  volume  to  be  the  light  in  all  our  seeing,  and  the  com- 
fort in  all  our  searching.  And,  to  the  writings  of  no  ])rophet, 
have  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  Lord,  and  His  apostles,  borne  great- 
er witness  than  to  the  writings  of  "the  prophet  Daniel."  If 
we  fail,  here,  it  is  because  we  do  not  use  the  Old  Testament 
as  they  used  it,  cite  it  as  they  cited  it,  or  believe  it  as  they 
believed  it. 

Therefore  do  I  deem  it  loyal  to  the  Truth  to  testify  that  in 
Dan.  ii:  44,  vii:  27,  and  in  Rev.  xx:  1-6,  lies  the  bottom,  bed- 
rock, basis,  and  formal  statement  of  tlie  pre-millennial  doc- 
trine, more  deep,  massive,  and  enduring  than  the  p"ranite 
foundations  of  the  earth, — not  to  speak  of  a  hundred  other 
texts.  I  deem  it  "Truth"  to  affirm  that  such  is  the  organic 
connection  of  both  Testaments,  and  the  dependence  of  the 
New  upon  the  Old,  that  the  sequence  of  the  kingdom  upon 
the  second  advent,  in  Dan.  vii,  for  the  Beast's  destruction  de- 
termines forever  that  the  scene  of  the  cloud-seated  Son  of 
Alan  in  Revelation  xiv.,  and  of  the  Warrior  on  the  White 
Horse  in  xix.,  are  no  other  than  the  same  as  that  of  the  Cloud- 
Comer  in  Dan.  vii..  and  therefore,  the  second  coming  of  Christ 
is  pre-millennial.     Heaven  and  earth  shall  pass  away,  but  this 


Si\MM.lT/0\\  229 

connection,  dependence,  sec[uence  and  identity,  shall  not  pass 
away.  God's  throne  is  not  more  firmly  established.  The 
almightiness  and  everlastingness  of  God's  Word  are  here. 
]\Ionnmental  brass,  marble,  and  adamant,  will  wear  away 
corroded  by  the  tooth  of  time.  The  solid  masonry  of 
men,  the  rocks  on  which  man's  mightiest  architecture  has  re- 
posed, will  become  as  the  shifting  sands,  and  his  proudest 
structures  crumble  into  dust.  But  this  "Truth"  shall  stand 
forever.  Abused  like  every  other  doctrine  of  the  Scriptures, 
associated  with  delusions  it  abhors,  error  now  seeking  to  enjoy 
its  followship,  and  now  to  repel  it,  wounded  in  the  house  of 
its  friends,  rejected  by  those  who  know  the  least  about  it,  stud- 
ied relatively  by  the  few,  distorted  by  the  many,  victimized 
to  creeds,  councils,  and  special  hate,  it  still  lives  and  will  con- 
tinue to  live  forever. 

"Time  writes  no  wrinkle 'on  its  brow." 

The  "Hope"  it  whispers  has  been  tested  on  the  plains  of  Dura, 
in  the  fiery  furnace  and  the  lion's  den,  in  Alaccabean  caves,  the 
amphitheatre  at  Rome,  the  dungeons  of  Patmos,  the  recesses 
of  the  Cottian  Alps,  the  Armenian  mountains,  and  wherever 
the  blood  of  the  martyrs  of  Jesus  has  been  shed.  V\  reathed 
with  the  memories  of  Olivet,  it  looks  to  Olivet  in  days  to 
come.  Twice  ten  centuries  and  a  half  it  has  been  the  one 
bright  star  that  has  shone  through  the  gloom  of  Israel's  long 
night  of  suffering  and  expatriation;  and  now  that  the  brows 
of  the  morning  are  purpling  with  the  tokens  of  coming  day, 
it  beats  in  Israel's  breast  with  a  redoubled  pulse.  The  present 
age  hates  it.  The  self-deluded  admirers  of  human  progress 
turn  their  back  upon  it.  Sociologists  deride  it.  \\'orld-ie- 
formers  make  light  of  it.  The  political  Zionist  hisses  at  it. 
The  church  treats  it  with  indifference,  and  oftentimes  with 
opposition.  ]\Iany  good  men,  from  motives  of  policv,  avoid  it, 
unable  to  refute  it.  It  is  not  popular  with  the  optimism  of  a 
false  theology  and  a  blooming  antichristianity.  But  in  multi- 
tudes of  hearts  it  finds  a  home,  and  is  welcomed  as  nothing 
less  than  the  imperishable  truth  of  God. 


230 


DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 


And  this  I  can  truthfully  and  intelligently  say,  with  eyes 
resting  on  the  history  of  the  church  for  eighteen  centuries, 
giving  full  credit  to  all  that  Christianity  has  done  for  the  world, 
in  the  gift  of  civil  and  religious  liberty,  the  abolition  of 
gigantic  evils,  the  propagation  of  the  blessed  Gospel,  in  the  in- 
stitution of  her  immortal  charities,  and  in  the  education  of 
what  the  early  church  believed,  and  how  the  doctrine  came 
to  be  corrupted,  and  by  what  devices  she  was  persuaded  to  re- 
volutionize the  faith  of  that  "cloud  of  witneses"  who  were  the 
spectators  of  her  early  warfare,  and  versed  in  the  vain  attempts 
to  set  aside  her  testimony;  and  with  perfect  understanding  of 
all  that  creeds,  councils  and  polemists,  have  formulated,  and 
how  both  ancient  and  modern  sects  have  nobly  but  imper- 
fectly expressed  their  judgment,  and  how  false  teachers  have 
made  use  of  it,  and  true  teachers  have  been  misled,  and  what 
dogmatics  have  objected,  and  what  criticism  has  to  offer,  and, 
better  still,  what  a  thorough  exegesis  has  so  triumphantly  es- 
tablished in  the  study  of  both  Testaments; — in  view  of  all, 
and  of  my  account,  I  desire  to  utter  this  confession,  that  the 
doctrine  that  the  kingdom  of  Christ  cannot  come  to  victory, 
"underneath  all  heavens,"  till  the  Lord  Himself  comes,  is  the 
very  "Truth"  of  God.  That  great  and  "Blessed  Hope,"  is  our 
hope,  that  "Faith"  is  our  faith,  as  it  was  the  faith  and  hope  of 
all  the  prophets,  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  His  apostles.  It  is  the 
only  "Hope"  of  victory  k)V  the  Church,  Israel,  the  nations, 
and  a  groaning  world. 

So  take  we  leave,  for  the  present,  of  the  great  prophet  of 
the  exile,  whose  pages  have  been  to  us  a  light  and  a  comfort 
in  these  our  "troublous  times."  And  all  the  more,  since  God 
Himself  is  fulfilling,  now.  His  own  word  beneath  our  very 
eyes,  that  "sure  word  of  prophecy  unto  which  we  do  well  to 
take  heed."  Would  that  our  feeble  efifort  had  been  worthier  of 
the  book  and  its  holy  author!  All  vvc  can  do  is  to  close  our 
own  words,  and  seal  our  own  book,  yet  saying  as  w^e  drop  the 
pen. 

Blest  prophet!    second  to  no  seer, 

Wliose  ej'es  beheld  the  coming  day, 

To  whom  the  sacred  task  was  given 

To  paint  the  End,  and  point  the  Way! 


SCMMATIOX.  231 

The  world's  wliole  future  thou  hast  seen, 
The  march  of  empires,  ages  down; 
Israel's  long  pathway  to  the  goal; 
Their  conflict,  victory  and  crown. 

The  wars  of  twice  a  thousand  years. 
Five  hundred  more,  and  more  to  come, 
Earth's  kingdoms  scattered  like  the  chafY, 
For  one  alone  to  find  the  room! 

For  Babylon,  a  place  no  more; 
The  Persian,  Greek,  and  Roman  line 
Egypt  and  Syria  swept  away 
To  set  a  throne  in  Palestine. 

The  blood-stained  Horns  that  gore  the  world. 
The  Teuton.  Bourbon,  bold  to  scofif, 
Islam,  Tiara,  downward  hurled 
Braganza,  Saxon,  RomanofY. 

Secrets  of  terror  thou  hast  told. 
Of  glory,  too,  so  strange  to  tell; 
Visions  beside  the  rushing  streams, 
luiphrates,  Ulai,  Hiddekel; 

Time's  footfall  measured  by  the  hand 
That  wheels  the  orbs  in  orbits  high, 
The  Seasons,  Ages,  Epochs,  Ends, 
The  calendar  of  history: 

Messiah,  first  upon  the  cross. 
Then  hidden  long  from  mortal  view; 
Messiah  coming  on  the  clouds 
To  judge  the  Gentile  and  the  Jew. 

The  Risen  Saints  thine  eyes  beheld. 
The  Antichrist  sent  to  his  doom; 
Delivered  Israel,  new-born,  saved; 
The  "  Kingdom,  Power  and  Glory"  come! 

O  prophet  of  thy  people,  great! 
Above  thy  grave,  to  Shushan  lent, 
Thy  "Kitab  Emeth,"  "  Book  of  Trutli, 
Is  thine  eternal  monument! 

In  vain  the  critic  plies  his  art. 
To  fiction  make  of  heaven-born  words 
Immortal  still  the  "words"  remain 
Thine  own,  the  angel's,  anH  the  Lord's. 


i2>^  'DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY, 

Rest  undisturbed,  till  yonder  morn 
Awakes  the  "many"  from  the  dust; 
Within  thy  lot  thou  then  shalt  stand 
In  resurrection  of  the  just. 

In  brightness,  like  the  golden  sun, 
And  glittering  as  the  largest  star, 
Splendor  shall  crown  thy  labor  done. 
Nor  age-long  years  its  brightness  mar. 

"Hayi-Olam" ,  streaming  in  from  God, 
"Zohar,"  the  gleam  that  fadeth  never; 
Thy  portion  these,  with  Jesus  near, 
Amen!     Forever  and  forever! 

Thy  Hope  our  Hope,  thy  Faith  our  Faith, 
Thy  people  on  our  heart  in  prayer. 
One  day  our  eyes  the  joy  will  see, 
And  then  with  thee  the  glory  share! 


APPENDIX. 


APPENDIX. 


ERROR  CORRECTED. 
I  think  the  best  apology  a  teacher  of  the  Truth  can  make 
for  his  errors,  and  the  only  one,  if  he  is  an  honest  man,  is  to 
acknowledge  the  same.  It  is  with  great  pleasure  I  give  to  the 
public  the  subjoined  letter  from  my  friend.  Prof.  George  B. 
Merriman,  formerly  Professor  of  Mathematics  and  Astronomy 
in  the  University  of  Michigan,  Ann  Arbor,  and  more  re- 
cently in  the  same  chair  in  Rutgers  College,  New  Jer- 
sey, correcting  two  errors  of  mine  in  my  computation  of  the 
70  weeks  of  Daniel.  Amid  the  pressure  of  so  many  things 
upon  the  mind,  and  the  struggle  incident  to  so  wide  a  field 
of  entangling  speculation  in  the  study  of  a  theme  so  difficult,  I 
neglected  to  allow  for  the  difference  between  the  soli-lunar 
years  of  prophecy,  as  found  in  Daniel's  book,  i.  e.,  prophetic 
years  of  360  days  each,  and  Julian  years,  in  which  our  calendar 
is  made.  Instead  of  adding  I  subtracted  the  Dionysian  4  re- 
ferred to  in  the  calculation.  Prof.  Merriman  has  kindly  cor- 
rected these  errors  and  inadvertencies.  The  difference  of  ore 
year  in  the  interval  of  57  weeks  between  the  3d  and  4th  weeks 
is  merely  a  difference  between  current  and  completed  time,  af- 
fecting in  no  way  the  validity  of  the  demonstration.  It  is  a 
great  satisfaction  to  find  the  70  weeks  mathematically  exact, 
since,  exegetically  and  historically,  nothing  is  more  certain 
than  that  B.  C.  536  was  the  starting  point  of  the  weeks.  Tlie 
judgment  of  an  authority  so  careful  and  competent  as  Prof. 
Merriman  leaves  nothing  more  to  be  desired. 

Clifton  Springs,  Feb.  3,  1898. 
Dear  Dr.  West: — 

Allow  me  to  call  your  attention  to  an  error  in  your  exposi- 
tion of  Daniel's  prophecy,  on  page  86  in  September  number, 
i8q7,  of  "Our  Hope."  You  concede  that  the  69  weeks,  or  483 
years,  of  the  prophecy  are  prophetic  years  of  360  days  each, 

(235) 


236  DANIEUS  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

but  you  have  combined  them  with  JuHan  years,  and,  to  annul 
the  effect  of  this  error,  have,  inadvertently,  made  another  by 
subtracting-  4  years,  when  you  should  have  added  them.  I 
think  the  following  is  the  explanation  you  intended  to  give: 

Daniel's  prophecy  of  69  "sevens,"  or  483  years,  wdien  re- 
duced to  Julian,  or  years  of  civil  reckoning,  makes  476  years. 
This  period  terminates,  as  you  interpret  the  prophecy,  at  the 
birth  of  Christ,  B.  C.  4.  The  time  to  the  year  A.  D.  i  is  evi- 
dently 4  years  longer  than  476;  i.  e.,  is  480  Julian  years.  The 
prophet,  you  say,  took  no  account  of  Ezra's  "gap,"  the  interval 
between  Ezra's  chapters  vi.  and  vii.,  or  from  B.  C.  515  to  B.  C. 
457.  This  interval,  reckoned  exclusively  or  in  completed  time, 
as  was  then  the  custom,  is  56  years.  By  adding  this  number, 
therefore,  to  the  480  years,  we  have  536  years  as  the  entire 
period  from  the  starting  point  of  the  70  weeks  to  A.  D.  i. 
This  puts  the  beginning  of  the  70  weeks  in  the  very  year  of  the 
Edict  of  Cyrus,  B.  C.  536,  and  shows  the  "perfect  harmony" 
you  seek  to  establish  between  the  Biblical  and  secular  chro- 
nology. 

\^ery  respectfully  yours, 

Geo.  B   ]\Ierriman. 


II. 

THE  PROPHETIC  NUMBERS. 

THE  70TH   WEEK. 

Dan.  ix:  24-27,  is  the  scat  and  source — the  fans  ct  ongo — of 
all  the  prophetic  numbers  in  both  Testaments  concerning  the 
"End."  Each  week  is  7  years,  prophetic  time.  The  "One 
Week,"  Dan  ix:  27,  is  the  last  of  the  70  weeks,  and  is  therefore 
7  years.  Its  first  "Half,"  or  3^  years  (ix:  27),  is  unfilled  in 
Daniel,  but  filled  in  Rev.  xi:  3,  and  called  "1,260  days."  The 
middle  of  the  week,  when  the  "abomination"  is  set  up,  re- 
appears in  our  Lord's  Olivet  Discourse,  ]^fatt.  xxiv:  15,  and 
again  in  Rev.  xi:  7,  when  the  "Two  Witnesses"  are  slain, 
and  is  furthermore  prominent  as  the  time-point  when  Israel's 
conversion  is  announced  and  the  Dragon  is  dejected.  Rev. 
xii:  10-12,  and  is  the  beginning  of  the  Great  Tribulation.  Rev. 
xiii:  5;  Dan.  vii:  25;  xii:  7;  Matt,  xxiv:  15.  The  second 
"Half,"  or  3^  years,  is  expressed  in  various  ways,  yet  all  com- 
mensurate: (i)  As  "a  time,  two  times  (dual  nu^nber)  and  the 
dividing  of  a  time"  (Dan.  vii:  25;  xii:  7;  Rev.  xii:  ^4),  a  "time" 
being  a  prophetic  or  soli-lunar  year  of  360  days  everywhere  in 
Daniel's  book,  as  when  it  is  said  of  Nebuchadnezzar  that  "7 
times  shall  pass  over  him"  (iv:  3),  i.  e.,  2,2  "times"  are  a  half- 
week,  as  "7  times"  are  one  week.  (2)  As  the  'shortened  days" 
in  JNIatt.  xxiv:  21,  22.  (3)  As  a  "short  time,"  in  Rev.  xii:  12. 
(4)  As  42  months  (I^ev.  xi:  2;  xii:  5).  (5)  As  the  1,260  days 
of  the  sheltered  woman  (Rev.  xii:  6),  identical  with  her  "tinie, 
times  and  a  half"  (Rev.  xii:  14).  Daniel's  weeks  are  weeks  of 
years,  not  of  days  put  for  years,  but  of  years  for  years,  in  the 
first  instance.  No  "Year-Day  Principle"  finds  any  place  in 
Daniel.  "Son  of  ]\Ian,  I  have  given  thee  each  day  for  a  vear," 
was  not  spoken  to  Daniel,  but  to  Ezekiel.  Daniel's  "Sevens" 
are  groups  of  years,  not  of  days.  The  utmost  caution  is  need- 
ful, lest  we  practice  deception  on  ourselves  when  using  the 
term  "weeks."  All  the  weeks  are  of  equal  size,  i.  e.,  commen- 
surate, although  the  two  "Halves"  are  not  identical.  Other- 
wise, the  angel  would  have  told  tne  prophet  that  in  the  69 
weeks  no  less  than  173.880  years  would  pass  away  between  the 
Edict  of  Cyrus.  P..  C.  536,  and  the  Birth  of  Christ,  and  that  the 
70th  week  in  Daniel  means  2,520  years,  the  half-week  1,260 
years.  Thus,  on  the  Year-Day  Principle,  the  last  half  ends 
somewhere  about  1846.  or  1866,  or  1896,  or  1897  or  1898,  the 
Middle  of  the  Week  being  the  Edict  of  Justinian,  or  the  cap- 
ture of  Jerusalem  by  Omar,  or  the  temporal  donation  to  the 
Papacy,  i.  e.,  somewhere  in  the  neighborhood  of  A,  D.  500- 
700.  The  first  half  of  the  last  Antichrist's  zceek  vutsf,  therefore, 
Jhitc  begun  front  1,000  to  1,200  years  before  the  Antichrist  ap- 
peared, i.  c.,  the  /OtJi  zceek  began  more  than  half  a  millennium 
prior  to  the  Birth  of  Christ! 


III. 

TESTIMONIES  TO  DANIEL,  AND  TO  THE  KNOWL- 
EDGE AND  INFLUENCE  OF  HIS  BOOK. 

B.  C.  603.  Nebuchadnezzar's  Hrst  testimony.  Daniel  18  years 
old.    Dan.  ii:  46-49. 

B.  C.  598.  Ezekiel's  first  testimony.  Daniel  23  years  old. 
Ezek.  xxviii:  3. 

B.  C.  555.  Nebuchadnezzar's  second  testimony.  Daniel  63 
years  old.   Dan.  iv:  8,  9,  18. 

B.  C.  538.  Gabriel's  first  testimony.    Dan.  ix:  21-23. 
v:  13,  14,  16,  29. 

B.  C.  538.  Darius  the  Mede's  testimony.  Daniel  83  years  old. 
Dan.  vi:  2,  3,  14,  16,  18-20,  24-28. 

B.  C.  538.  Testimony  of  the  Satraps.  Daniel  83  years  old. 
Dan.  vi:  5. 

B.  C.  536.  Nitocris,  the  Queen  Mother's  testimony.  Daniel 
85  years  old. 

B.  C.  536.  Belshazzar's  testimony.  Daniel  85  years  old.  Dan. 
v:  13-16. 

B.  C.  534.  Gabriel's  second  testimony.  Daniel  87  years  old. 
Dan.  x:  10,  11,  19. 

B.  C.  538-534.  Self-testimony  of  Daniel.  Daniel  83  to  87  years 
old.     Dan.  vii:  i,  28;  viii:  i,  27;  ix:  2;  xii:  4,  8. 

B.  C.  518.  Zechariah's  testimony  to  the  knowledge  and  influ- 
ence of  Daniel's  book:  (i)  In  the  "Stone"  as  Mes- 
siah, Zech.  iii:  9;  Dan.  ii:  45.  (2)  In  the  "four 
horns"  as  symbols  of  world-power,  Zech,  i: 
18-21;  Dan.  vii:  7,  13.  (4)  In  the  Deliverance  of 
the  Jews  at  the  Advent  and  the  setting-  up  of  the 
kingdom.  Zech.  xii:  11;  Dan.  xii:  i;  Zech.  xxiv: 
9;  Dan.  ii:  44;  vii:  2y.  This,  more  than  300  years 
before  the  Maccabean  times. 

B.  C.  468.  Ezra's  testimony  to  its  influence.  Daniel's  prayer 
a  model.  Ezra  ix:  5-7;  Dan.  ix:  4-8;  300  years 
before  the  Maccabees. 

B.  C.  455.  Nehemiah's  testimony.  The  Prayer.  Neh.  i:  5;  ix: 
32;  Dan.  ix:  8;  Neh.  ix:  12;  287  years  before  the 
Alaccabecs. 

B.  C.  333.  Baruch's   testimony   in   the   Persian   period.     The 
Prayer.    Baruch  1:15-22;  ii:  1-15;  Dan.  ix:  7-10, 
12,  13.;  160  years  before  the  Maccabees. 
(238) 


APPENDIX.  239 

B,  C.  332.  The  testimony  of  Josephus  to  the  exhibition,  332, 
by  Jaddua,  the  High  Priest,  of  Daniel's  prophecy 
of  the  Rough  Goat  to  Alexander  the  Great.  Jo- 
sephus, Antiq.  xi:  8,  7.  See  Farrar's  onslaught 
here.  On  the  other  hand.  Zockler's  Daniel  in 
Lange,  Introd.  25.  This,  160  years  before  the 
Maccabees. 

B.  C.  250.  Testimony  of  the  Septuagint — begun  B.  C.  281, 
finished  247 — to  Daniel's  z^'holc  book;  86  years 
before  the  Alaccabces. 

B.C.  170.  Testimony  of  the  Sibylline  Oracles,  Book  iii:  396, 
613,  and  passim,  to  expressions  borrowed  from 
the  Greek  version  of  Daniel;  2  years  before  the 
Maccabean  persecution. 

B.  C.  168.  Testimony  of  IMattathias,  father  of  Judas  IMacca- 
baeus,  to  Daniel  and  his  companions,  i  Mace,  ii: 
60.  This,  3  years  before  B.  C.  164,  when  the 
critics  say  Daniel's  book  was  composed.  See 
Zockler  in  Lange,  Daniel,  Introd.,  24,  25. 

B.  C.  168.  Testimony  of  the  expression  "Abomination  of  Des- 
olation" applied,  from  Daniel's  book,  to  the  idol- 
altar  of  Antiochus,  3  years  before  the  critics'  date 
of  the  book,  and  other  expressions,  i  Mace,  i:  54; 
Dan.  viii:  11. 

B.  C.  132.  Testimony  of  Ecclesiasticus,  xxxv:  18-20;  xxxvi: 
1-16;  Dan.  ii:  35,  45;  vii:  25;  xii:  7. 

A.  D.  33.  Testimony  of  Jesus  Christ,  passim,  the  title  ''Son  of 
of  Man,"  "Coming  in  Clouds,"  the  "shortened 
Days,"  the  "Great  Tribulation,"  the  "Abomina- 
tion of  Desolation,"  the  "Resurrection,"  the 
"Splendor"  of  the  righteous  ,  the  "Times  of  the 
Gei'itiles" — "unto  the  End."  Luke  xxi:  24;  Dan. 
ix:  26.  "Daniel  the  Prophet,"  Matt,  xxiv:  15; 
xxvi:  64;  xxiv:  4-31;  the  Deliverance  of  Israel 
and  Judgment  of  the  Nations,  the  Kingdom, 
xxxv:  31-46;  Dan.  ii.,  vii..  ix.,  xii. 

A.  D.  53.  First  testimony  of  Paul.  2  Thess.  ii:  4-8;  Dan.  viii: 
12;  xi:  36;  2  Thess.  i:  6-10;  i  Thess.  iv:  17;  Dan. 
vii:  13;  xii:  1-3.    See  Matt,  xxiv:  29-31. 

A.  D.  66.  Second  testimony  of  Paul.  Heb.  xi:  33-38;  Dan. 
iii:  25;  vi:  22;  xi:  33-35. 

A.  D.  67.  Peter's  testimony,  i  Pet.  i:  10-12;  Dan.  ix:  2;  xii: 
6-12. 

A.  D.  75.  Testimony  of  Josephus.  Antiq.  x:  11,  14;  xi:  8;  xii: 
7' 


240 


DANIELS  GREAT  PROPHECY. 


A.  D.  95.  Testimony   of  John,    in   the   Apocalypse — passim, 
"Behold,  He  comes  in  clouds,"  the  "Beast,"  the 
Horns,"  the  Antichrist,  the  "Great  Tribulation," 
the   "Conversion   of  the  Jews,"   the   "Resurrec- 
tion," the  "Deliverance  of  the  Jews,"  the  "Judg- 
ment of  the  Nations,"  the  "Kingdom."   The  date 
A.  D.  69  or  70,  assigned  by  the  Higher  Critics  as 
that  of  the  Revelation  is  indefensible. 
It  was  impossible  that  the  Book  of  Daniel  could  have  been 
introduced  into  the  Jevvish  Canon  in  Maccabean  times,  or  later. 
The  right  of  introduction  belonged  to  the  prophets,  who  were 
the  historiographers  also  of  the  Jewish  nation.     The  Canon, — 
notwithstanding  all  that  the  Higher  Criticism  has  to  say, — was 
closed  by   Ezra,   Zechariah,   Haggai,   and   JMalachi,   and   the 
prophets  passed  away.     No  new  prophet  arose  to  guide  the 
people  of  God.     Nor  did  the  Jews  ever  violate  their  national 
usage  as  to  the  introduction  of  a  new  book  into  the  body  of 
their  Scriptures.    As  to  the  order  and  place  of  the  books,  many 
different  classifications  were  made,  in  later  times,  for  various 
reasons,  some  good,  some  bad.     In  one,  the  Prophets  and  the 
Hagiographa  are  in  the  same  division.     In  others  they  are 
separate.    At  one  time,  Daniel  is  placed  among  the  Prophets, 
because  of  so  much  prophecy  in  his  book.     At  another  time, 
he  is  placed  in  the  Hagiographa,  because  of  so  much  history 
in  his  book.     In  the  Septuagint  he  comes  after  Ezekiel.     In 
the  Moseretic  text  he  is  put  in  the  Hagiographa.     Our  Lord 
puts  him  among  the  prophets.    The  "Testimonies"  to  the  pre- 
existence  of  Daniel's  book,  both  internal  and  external,  are 
irrefutable. 


IV. 
DANIEL,  THE  FATHER  OF  UNIVERSAL  HISTORY. 

To  Daniel  we  are  indebted  for  the  formula,  "Times  and  Sea- 
sons, which  occurs  so  frequently  in  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ments, since  his  interpretation  of  the  dream  of  the  Chaldean 
king.  In  the  Chaldee  dialect  he  calls  them  "Iddanayya"  and 
'  Zimnayya,"  translated  in  the  Septuagint,  Theodotion  and  the 
New  Testament,  as  the  ''Clironor  and  ''Kairof  appointed  of 
God.  Thus,  of  God  Most  High,  the  prophet  says  He  changeth 
the  "Iddanayya  vc-Zinmayya,"  and  "removes  and  sets  up 
kings;  He  giveth  wisdom  to  the  wise  and  knowledge  to  them 
that  know  understanding."  Dan.  ii:  25.  In  Dan.  iv:  25,  "Seven 
Iddanin."  pass  over  Nebuchadnezzar,  each  "Iddan''  a  year.  In 
vii:  25,  the  period  of  the  Great  Tribulation  is  divided  into  3 
periods  of  "a  Time,  two  Times  and  the  division  of  a  Time" — 
"Iddan,  Iddanin,  UpJdag  Iddan,"  i.  e.,  3^  years,  or  the  "Half- 
Week"  in  ix:  27,  and  xii:  7.  In  vii:  7,  the  lives  of  the  Beasts 
are  prolonged  a  "Season"  and  a  "Time,"  a  "Zcman"  and  an 
"Iddan."  In  the  Hebrew  dialect  the  formula  is  "Mo'adh, 
Moadhim,  vc-Khetsi,"  xii:  7,  "a  Time,  Times  and  a  Half." 
With  direct  reference  to  these  expressions,  our  Lord,  in  the 
New  Testament,  speaks  of  the  whole  period  of  the  subjection 
of  the  Jews  to  Gentile  power  as  the  "Times  of  the  Gentiles" — 
the  period  from  the  Babylonish  Exile  to  the  Second  Coming 
of  Christ,  and  particularly  from  the  Destruction  of  Jerusalem 
by  Titus.  Luke  xxi:  24.  So,  in  Acts  1:17,  "It  is  not  for  you  to 
know  the  Times  or  Seasons  which  the  Father  hath  put  in  His 
own  power."  In  Acts  iii:  19-21,  Peter  urges  the  whole  House 
of  Israel  to  repent  and  believe  in  Christ,  in  order  that  God  the 
Father  may  send  back  Jesus  Christ  to  them  from  heaven, 
whom  heaven  must  retain  until  the  promised  "Seasons  of  Re- 
viving" and  "Times  of  Restoring"  come  from  the  Presence 
(or  Face)  of  the  Lord,  pointing  thus  to  the  Old  Testament  pre- 
dictions of  the  conversion  and  restoration  of  the  Jews,  in  con- 
ection  with  the  Second  Coming  of  Christ.  In  Acts  xvii:  26, 
Paul  tells  the  Athenians,  when  speaking  of  the  historical  de- 
velopment of  the  Gentiles,  the  periods,  epochs  and  crises  in 
their  progress,  that  God  "hath  determined  the  Times  before 
appointed  and  the  bounds  of  their  habitation."    So  in  I  Thess. 

(-4  ) 


242  DAXIEVS  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

v:  I,  he  tells  the  Thessalonians,  when  speaking  of  the  Day  of 
the  Lord  and  the  Times  and  Seasons  connected  with  His  Com- 
ing, that  "of  the  Times  and  the  Seasons"  he  has  no  need  to 
write  to  them,  for  they  themselves  "knew  perfectly"  that  the 
Day  of  the  Lord  would  "come  as  a  thief;"  knew  all  concerning 
that  Day  and  the  Times  and  Seasons  also  from  the  book  of 
Daniel,  from  the  Lord's  Olivet  Discourse,  and  from  his  own 
instructions.  So,  in  John's  Apocalypse,  these  "Times  and 
Seasons"  and  the  "Day  of  the  Lord"  enter  into  the  conception 
of  the  whole  drama,  and  are  distributed  into  different  series 
of  sevens,  connected  with  the  development  of  events  under 
the  fourth  prophetic  empire.  The  words  "Mo'adli"  and 
"Mo'adhini"  are,  besides  being  used  of  "Times,"  applied  con- 
stantly to  the  stated  religious  "seasons"  of  the  Jewish  ritual, 
and  represent  definite  portions  of  time  measured  by  the  sun 
and  moon.  Ex.  xii:  lo;  xxiii:  14;  Num.  ix:  12;  Gan.  i:  14. 
An  "IddauJ'  a  "Zauaii,"  a  "Mo'adh,"  are  each  a  definite,  ap- 
pointed portion  of  time,  and  are  called  in  general  a  "CJironos" 
or  a  "Kairos."  At  the  same  time  they  are  employed  in  an  in- 
definite sense  elsewdiere  in  the  Scriptures,  long  or  short,  as  the 
case  may  be,  the  "Seasons"  and  the  "Times"  often  coinciding 
with  each  other,  the  "Times"  including  the  "Seasons."  As 
definite,  thev  are  chronologically  determined  in  the  Scriptures 
so  far  as  their  ow^n  measure  is  concerned.  Others,  indefinite, 
are  indeterminable.  In  both  cases  they  are  in  the  power  of  the 
Father;  in  the  one  case  to  make  them  long  or  short,  as  He 
pleases;  in  the  other  to  locate  them  in  history,  where  He  will, 
in  their  relation  to  the  other  times,  whose  measure  is  unde- 
fined. History  alone  can  solve  this  location  and  relation.  Thus, 
the  period  in  the  words,  "after  those  62  weeks  Messiah  shall  be 
cut  ofif"  (I^an.  ix:  26).  and  in  the  words,  "unto  the  end,"  are 
both  chroupJ(\^ically  indefinite.  History  determined  the  meas- 
ure of  the  first  by  "the  length  of  our  Lord's  life,  viz.,  33^  years, 
and  history  will  determine  the  second,  of  which  1897  years 
have  already  passed  away.  While  no  one  is  forbidden  to 
"search  what  time  and  what  manner  of  time"  the  Holy  Spirit 
has  forctestified  concerning  "the  sufferings  of  Christ  and  the 
glories  after  these,"  yet  here  is  the  loudest  warning  against 
the  adventurous  efforts  of  time-reckoners,  whether  astronomi- 
cal or  chronological,  who  would  fix  the  year,  even  the  day, 
when  the  Lord  will  come,  and  against  that  equally  erroneous 
view  that,  ever  since  His  Ascension,  He  might  have  come  "any 
moment,"  or  may  so  come  now.  Although  there  arc  definite 
times  and  seasons,  or  opportunities,  yet  there  ?rc  indefinite 
also,  in  the  government  of  Ccd,  which  is  not  th.at  O'  mcchani- 


APPFNVfX.  243 

cal  stoicism,  or  fixed  fate,  but  is  a  wise  and  free  government, 
directed  at  all  times  by  His  sovereign  will.  How  long  the  In- 
terval between  the  69th  and  70th  weeks  shall  be  is  known  only 
to  God,  and  is  in  His  power.  Just  when  the  "Times  and  Sea- 
sons" connected  with  the  restoration  of  the  Kingdom  to  Is- 
rael shall  set  in  is  contingent  on  the  time  when  the  Antichrist 
shall  come,  and  this  is  unrevealed.  Therefore,  to  His  disciples 
the  Lord  said:  "It  is  not  for  you  to  know  the  'Times  or  the 
Seasons,'  which  the  Father  hath  put  in  His  own  power,"  be- 
cause the  location  of  the  definite  ones  depends  upon  the  de- 
termination of  the  indefinite,  whose  measure  is  unrevealed. 
On  the  other  hand,  so  far  as  the  measure  and  relation  cff  the 
final  "Times  and  Seasons"  to  the  Day  of  the  Lord  and  the 
Coming  of  Christ  are  concerned,  the  Thcssalonians  knew  them 
"perfectly,"  for  they  are  connected  with  the  70th  week  in 
Daniel.  It  is  from  Daniel  the  whole  terminology  and  period- 
ology  of  prophecy  in  the  New  Testament  come.  He  is  the 
father  of  it  all.  Solemn  "Times  and  seasons"  there  have  been 
in  the  past,  are  now,  and  will  be  again,  and  to  these  our  study 
is  divinely  directed. 

Therefore,  in  view  of  all,  has  "Daniel  the  prophet"  acquired 
for  himself  the  enviable  title,  "Father  of  Universal  History." 
By  means  of  his  predictions  we  are  not  left  in  ignorance  of  the 
end  of  our  present  age,  nor  of  the  way  to  it.  How  far  we 
have  come,  what  lies  behind  us,  what  is  before  us,  and,  in  gen- 
eral, how  approximately  near  we  are  to  the  end,  is  here  re- 
vealed. The  "Times  and  Seasor.s"  represent  the  polilical  and  re- 
ligious periods,  ages,  centuries,  epochs  and  crises  of  world-his- 
tory and  of  the  development  of  the  Kingdom  of  Gocl  on  earth. 
Of  such  ''Times,"  or  "Iddanayya,"  appointed  of  God,  were  the 
Patriarchal  times,  the  430  years'  sojourn  in  Egypt,  the  40 
years'  wandering,  the  period  of  the  Judges,  the  490  years' 
monarchy,  the  70  years'  captivity  and  the  70  weeks'  prophecv. 
()i  such" Seasons" were  Abraham's  call,  the  descent  into  Egypt, 
the  Exodus,  the  building  of  the  first  Temple,  the  disruption  of 
the  kingdom,  the  croing  into  and  return  from  exile,  tlte  build- 
ing of  the  second  Temple,  the  First  Advent  of  Christ,  the  Day 
of  the  Crucifixion,  Pentecost,  the  second  destruction  of  Je- 
rusalem. "Times  and  Seasons,"  represent  the  vicissi- 
tudes of  kingdoms  and  nations  and  of  the  people  of  God  in 
all  their  history,  and  look  to  the  final  "Times  and  Seasons" 
when  the  sure  word  of  prophecv  shall  be  fulfilled.  They  sig- 
nify the  fact  that  the  whole  course  of  history  has  be«^n  mapped 
out  according  to  a  divine  plan,  and  that  the  ages  and  ends,  the 
periods  and  epochs,  were  determined,  whether  definite  or  in- 


244 


DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 


definite,  long  or  short,  as  the  will  of  God  dictated,  and  that, 
thus  arranged,  the  whole  was  revealed  tO'  Daniel. 

The  profonndcst  writers  have  not  been  slow  to  recognize 
this  great  truth.  The  "Scheme  of  the  Four  Empires"  and  the 
kingdoms  sprung  from  them,  wiih  the  entire  pathwa}/  of  Israel 
to  the  end — the  whole  theological  conception  of  history — was 
regarded  as  a  divinely  revealed  outlook  for  the  future,  and 
ruled  the  Christian  Church,  from  the  beginning  to  the  rise  or 
Rationalism  in  the  17th  century.  Herein,  viz.,  in  the  fact  that 
it  has  a  Teleology,  or  definite  End,  it  differs  from  all  uninspired 
history,  ancient  or  modern — that  "End"'  the  Kingdom  of  God 
in  universal  victory.  It  was  the  first  total  conception  of  his- 
tory ever  made  known  to  mankind,  a  conception  on  which 
Paul  built  his  magnificent  oration  to  the  wise  men  of  Athens. 
The  great  historians,  Gatterer,  von  Mueller,  Schlosser,  all  ad- 
hered to  the  four-empired  view  of  the  world's  development,  in 
its  relation  to  the  Jewish  people.  Against  all  Rationalism  the 
view  held  its  ground,  that  Israel  is  the  centre  of  all  history  by 
divine  appointment,  and  that  the  destiny  of  Israel  decides  tlie 
destiny  of  the  nations.'  Hcinrich  Leo,  unable  to  penetrate  the 
deep  mystery  of  Israel's  mission  and  relation  to  the  world,  re- 
jected the  four-empired  view,  in  order  to  work  out  a  universal 
history  on  an  ideal  evolutionary  scheme  according  to  natural 
law.  In  like  manner  Hegel,  at  the  beginning  of  the  present 
century,  though  unable  to  account  for  Israel's  history  by 
means  of  natural  evolution,  yet  dreamed  that  he  had  devised 
a  perfect  scheme  of  universal  history,  which  Vatke,  his  dis- 
ciple, adopted  and  applied  to  the  Old  Testament,  as  a  hundred 
others  have  done  since  his  day.  The  importance  of  Daniel's 
view,  however,  still  asserts  itself,  since  it  is  from  this  view 
alone  we  learn  that  the  Fourth  Prophetic  Empire,  the  Roman, 
though  wounded,  is  still  existing,  and  will  exist,  revived,  be- 
fore Christ  comes.  Luther  was  perfectly  right  in  believing, 
from  Daniel's  book,  that  "the  Fourth  Empire  must  remain 
till  the  last  day."  In  like  manner,  Ortili  truly  says,  "The  Co- 
lossus still  stands."  Calvin's  wrong  view  that  the  destructive 
"Stone"  which  shatters  the  Colossus  was  Christ  in  His  First 
Advent  and  establishment  of  the  Christian  Church — a  view 
adopted  by  Mede,  as  again  by  many  others,  and  followed  by  so 
many,  the  view  of  Rome,  was  defended  not  on  exegetical 
grounds,  but  on  polemical,  in  order  to  meet  the  equally  wrong 
view  that  the  "Kingdom  of  God"  is  not  here  now.  nor  wiM  be 
until  the  Lord  comes,  and  also  to  counteract  the  fanaticism  of 
various  sects  in  Reformation  times,  w'ho  held  that  it  ought 


APPENDIX.  245 

then  to  be  set  up  by  force  of  arms.  For  want  of  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  Eschatology,  the  only  way  to  refute  the  wrong 
view  was  to  "spiritualize"  the  prophecies! 

Nevertheless,  the  four-empired  view  has  a  charmed  life. 
None  could  deny  its  influence  over  Christ  and  His  disciples. 
The  whole  Olivet  Discourse  is  based  upon  it.  Peter's  Pente- 
costal second  discourse  rests  its  appeal  to  the  Jews  on  the 
same  view.  Paul's  appeal  to  the  Athenians  has  it  for  its 
ground.  In  John's  Apocalypse  his  Roman  Empire  is  the  legs 
and  feet  of  the  Colossus.  At  Jerusalem,  on  Mar's  Hill,  in  Pat- 
mos,  it  gave  scope,  magnificence  and  power  to  every  apostolic 
utterance.  Augustine,  Orosius,  \*ico,  Bossuet,  all  recognized 
it  as  the  only  true  guide  for  the  historian.  It  was  the  accepted 
frame  of  universal  history  all  through  the  Aliddle  Age.  It  was 
the  soul  of  the  "Chronicon"  of  John  Carion,  worked  over  and 
edited  by  Melanchthon,  1532,  and  again  issued,  enlarged  and 
improved  by  Melanchthon,  in  1556.  No  work  ever  exercised 
a  greater  influence  during  the  Reformation  of  the  i6th  cen- 
tury than  the  great  work  of  Sleidan,  "Dc  Oitafiior  Monarchiis!' 
no  less  than  70  editions  of  which  were  called  for  and  sold. 
Eodin's  "Method  for  the  Comprehension  of  P^niversal  His- 
tory," 1566,  followed  in  the  steps  of  Sleidan,  and  in  1672  Ko- 
ber,  in  his  "Dissertation,"  could  still  ask,  "Who  that  writes 
history  and  chronology  to-day  stops  short  of  the  Four  Empires 
as  the  goal  of  his  endeavor?"  It  was  Keller  (Cellarius),  in  1685, 
who  first  pushed  aside  the  monarchy  Colossus,  in  order  to  in- 
troduce his  three-fold  division  of  history,  viz.,  "ancient,  medi- 
aeval, modern."  Still,  tlie  view  of  Daniel  holds  its  ground 
among  all  believing  writers  on  the  world's  progress  and  des- 
tiny. The  supreme  importance  of  the  "Scheme  of  the  Four 
Empires"  lies  in  this,  that  it  is  a  divine  Apocalypse  of  the  fu- 
ture, a  telescope  that  penetrates  through  the  entire  vista  of 
world-history,  and  brings  to  view  the  end  of  our  age  in  the 
most  vivid  colors,  and  in  svmbols  the  most  gorgeous  and 
terrific.  It  is  a  light  for  the  "Tinies  of  the  Gentiles,"  for  Israel 
and  the  Church,  revealing  the  government  of  God  over  all 
history,  and  supporting  the  hope  of  the  believer  as  no  unpro- 
phetic  history  could  do.  It  looks  to  a  "Fullness  of  the  Gen- 
tiles" and  of  the  "Times  of  the  Gentiles,"  a  "Fullness  of  Is- 
rael," the  overthrow  of  all  anti-Christianity,  all  Gentile  politics 
and  power,  and  the  victory  of  the  Kingdom  at  the  Coming  of 
Christ.  The  New  Testament  simply  unveils  still  more  than  the 
Old  the  events  connected  with  the  development  of  the  Fourth 
Empire.  We  cannot  do  without  it.  A  IMiieller,  Brandis. 
Baumgarten   in   his   splendid   vohmies   en   the   Acts   of  the 


246  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECV. 

Apostles,  Liithardt  in  his  "Doctrine  of  the  Last  Things,"  Tie- 
fenthal  in  his  recent  work  on  "Daniel,"  Diisterwald  in  his 
"End-Time  Kingdom,"  D'Envieu,  in  his  immense  four-vol- 
umned  work  on  "Daniel  the  Prophet,"  in  fact,  all  expositors 
of  Daniel,  save  the  Rationalists,  are  a  loud  concert  of  praise 
to  the  grandeur  and  truth  of  its  representations  and  its  world- 
wide significance. 


V. 
RELATION    OF    DANIEL'S    PROPHECY    OF    THE 

FOURTH  EMPIRE  TO  THE  OLIVET  DISCOURSE 

AND  THE  APOCALYPSE. 

The  prophet  Daniel  spreads  before  us  the  entire  times  of 
the  Gentiles,  Babylonian,  Alcdo-Persian,  Graeco-AIacedonian 
and  Reman,  with  the  kingdoms  sprung  from  the  third  and 
fourth  empires,  from  B.  C.  606  to  the  Second  Coming  of 
Christ.  As  to  the  Fourth  Empire,  the  Roman,  he  gives:  (i) 
The  birth  of  Christ,  A.  D.  i;  His  Crucifixion,  A.  D.  33^; 
the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  by  Titus,  A.  D.  70;  (2)  the  Great 
Interval  of  the  Roman  times  of  the  Gentiles  to  the  70th  week, 
and  (3)  the  70th  week  itself.  He  thus  covers  the  whole  time 
between  the  First  and  Second  Advents.  That  Interval  lies 
between  the  69th  and  70th  weeks,  and  includes  the  birth,  death 
and  ascension  of  the  Son  of  Alan  and  destruction  of  Jerusalem. 
Or.  if  starting  from  that  catastrophe,  it  lies  between  A.  D.  70 
and  the  70th  week.*  .     tvt    1 

Our  Lord,  in  Matt,  xxiv.,  xxv.,  and  parallels  m  Alark  and 
Luke,  resumes  all  this,  and,  building  on  Daniel,  enlarges  the 
prophecy,  as<':g!iiiig  iJic  Church  to  her  place,  alongside  of  Israel, 
the  one'  carrying  "the  Gospel  to  the  nations,  the  other  re- 
maining in  unbelief  during  the  Interval.  The  period  of  33^ 
years  from  His  birth  to  His  crucifixion  lay  behind  Llim  wdien 
He  uttered  His  Discourse.  The  whole  period  from  His  death 
to  His  Second  Coming  stood  before  Him.  Fie  characterizes 
the  Roman  "Times  of  the  Gentiles"  as  the  period  of  Israel's 
rejection  and  the  cross-bearing  of  the  Church;  a  period  for  the 
development  of  the  world-power,  false  Christs,  war,  missions, 
persecution,  famines,  pestilence,  apostacy;  all  manner  of  ca- 
lamities. To  paint  in,  here,  a  millennial  age  of  universal 
righteousness  and  peace  is  an  impossibility.  There  is  no  room 
for  it.    The  Lord  has  positively  excluded  it. 

The  Apostle  John,  in  his  Apocalypse,  building  both  on  the 
Olivet  Discourse  and  Daniel's  prophecy,  as  well  as  on  other 
prophecies,  gives  us,  again,  the  same  Interval  of  the  Roman 
Times  of  the^  Gentiles  and  the  70th  week,  with  the  Church,  Is- 
rael, the  world-power  or  kingdoms  of  this  world  and  the  King- 
dom of  God.  He  separates  artistically  all  the  events  of  the 
future  in  outline,  and,  with  the  lucidity  of  exposition  and  per- 
fect svmmetry  of  arrangement,  displays  the  whole  course  of 
*See  Dan.  ix:  24,  27. 

(247) 


248  DAXIEVS  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

ihe  Church  and  of  the  world-power  in  four  great  series  or 
groups  of  sevens,  viz.,  the  7  Epistles  to  the  Asiatic  churches, 
the  7  seals,  the  7  trumpets,  the  7  vials,  with  an  episode,  or 
pause-vision,  between  the  6th  and  7th  places  m  each  series — 
each  series  ending-  with  the  Day  of  the  Lord  and  the  Second 
Coming  of  the  Lord;  the  Theme  of  his  book,  announced  in 
Rev.  i:  7,  "Belioild,  He  cometh  with  clouds!" 

The  7  Epistles  unfold  the  great  interval  of  the  Roman  times 
of  the  Gentiles  on  its  ecclesiastical  side,  giving  in  separate  let- 
ters to  the  churches  the  difTerent  phases  of  Christianity  in  the 
first  century,  all  typical  cl  the  different  phases  of  Christen- 
dom till  the  Lord  comes.  They  represent  the  Church  develop- 
ment and  the  doom  of  its  last  prevailing  form,  even  to  be 
"spued  out"  of  the  Lord's  mouth.  The  7  seals  cover  the  same 
interval,  and  give  us  the  civil  and  political  side  of  the  same 
period,  the  development  of  the  world-power,  proceeding  from 
a  state  of  temporary  peace  near  John's  time,  going  forth  ex- 
ternally, "conquering  and  to  conquer"  through  scenes  of 
bloodshed  and  woe,  and  also  the  hostility  of  the  world-power 
toward  the  Church,  her  martyrdom  anrl  the  doom  of  the  w'orld- 
power  itself  at  the  Second  Coming  of  Christ.  The  7  trumpets, 
"ntering  later,  yet  covering  a  large  part  of  the  same  interval, 
give  the  judgments  of  God  upon  an  apostatising  Christen- 
dom, while  still  the  work  of  missions  continues,  and,  after  the 
conversion  of  Israel,  ending  with  the  overthrow  of  the  king- 
doms of  this  world,  their  conversion  to  Christ,  and  the  victory 
of  the  Kingdom  of  God  at  the  Second  Coming  of  Christ.  The 
7  vials,  entering  last  of  all,  are  the  judgments  under  the  7th 
trumpet,  and  run  on  to  the  same  end;  judgments  specially 
quick  and  intense  on  the  Antichrist  and  his  kingdom  during 
the  Great  Tribulation.  The  Climax,  or  Summit-Section,  here 
is  Rev.  xi:  15-19,  zvhich  contains,  prole ptically,  all  that  is  after- 
ward more  minutely  developed  from  xii.  to  xx:  6. 

The  characters  in  this  great  "Drama  of  the  End"  are  (i) 
the  true  election  out  of  Lsrael,  the  sealed  144,000;  the  sun- 
clothed  woman,  or  Jewish  Church,  whose  history  at  both 
Advents  is  given;  (2)  the  Dragon  dressed  in  the  uniform  of 
the  Roman  empire;  (3)  the  Roman  Beast  and  the  false  prophet, 
his  whole  history,  pagan,  papal,  infidel,  given  in  the  symbols; 
(a)  the  false  Church,  the  harlot  and  her  daughters,  everywhere; 
(5)  the  true  Church,  or  suffering  saints  of  God,  whose  "pa- 
tience and  faith  are  tried;"  (6)  the  personal  Antichrist,  or  "8th 
head";  (7)  the  worshippers  of  the  Antichrist;  (8)  the  ten  horns 
or  kingdoms  springing  from  the  Roman  empire;  (o)  Israel's 
martvrs  in  TToavcn  bv  the  glassy  sea;  (lo)  God,  Jesus  Christ, 
the  Holy  Spirit,  angels  and  demons. 


APPENDIX. 


249 


As  to  the  progress  or  development  of  the  Apocalypse,  Chap- 
ter i.  is  general  introduction  with  the  fundamental  vision  of 
the  whole  book,  the  Christophany,  the  commission  to  write 
and  explanations  of  the  vision.  Chapters  ii.  and  iii.  are  the  7 
Epistles  to  the  churches.  Chapters  iv.  and  v.  are  scenes  in 
Heaven  at  the  Ascension  of  Christ  to  His  Father's  throne,  the 
delegation  to  tlim,  formally,  of  all  power  by  the  gift  of  the  7 
sealed  Book  of  the  future  amidst  a  universal  jubilee.  Here  is 
the  source  of  "Old  Coronation."  It  is  Ephesians  i:  19-23,  in  sym- 
bols. It  is  not  the  Second  Advent,  but  the  Ascension,  and 
Coronation,  six  weeks  after  Gethsemane  and  Calvary.  Chap- 
ters iv.  and  v.  are  General  Introduction  to  all  the  Seals,  Trvmi- 
pets  and  \'ials,  just  as  i.  was  General  Introduction  to  theWhole 
Book.  On  this  follows  the  opening  of  6  seals  in  Chapter  vi. 
Between  the  6th  and  7th  seal  is  the  episode,  or  pause-vision, 
given  for  comfort  to-  the  Church  and  in  contrast  with  the  awful 
scenes  in  the  seals  preceding.  Here  the  dramatic  progress  is  sus- 
pended. In  great  typical  symbols,  or  ideal  frames,  the  different 
phases  of  the  future  are  represented,  all  the  events  correspond- 
ing to  each  symbol  entering  into  that  symbol,  from  John's 
time  to  the  Second  Conn'ng  of  the  Lord.  Chapters  viii.  and  ix. 
resume  the  progress  and  give  6  trumpet-visions,  which  arc  the 
7th  seal  developed.  Again,  between  the  6th  and  7th  trumpet 
comes  the  next  episode,  in  Chapters  x.  and  xi.,  where  the  Rain- 
bow-Angel (Christ)  gives  the  open  "Little  Book,"  containing 
Israel's  fortunes  in  the  time  of  the  end,  into  the  hands  of  John, 
whose  commission  to  "prophesy  again"  is  executed  by  the 
Two  Witnesses.  Here  enters  the  yrth  zceck,  as  gii'di  in 
Daniel,  only  more  larp-e!y  tilled  out  ivitJi  the  Antichrist  and 
scoics  in  jcrusaleni  under  the  Antichrist  during  the  building 
of  the  Temple.  In  xii.  we  have  converted  Israel,  the  Jewish 
Christian  Church  of  the  "Time  of  the  End,"  Michael  standing 
up,  as  in  Daniel.  Chapter  xiii.  is  the  Great  Tribulation.  Chap- 
ter xiv.  is  the  programme  chapter,  giving,  prolepticallv,  (i)  a 
picture  of  delivered  Israel  after  the  Tribulation,  their  Re- 
ileemer  come  to  them  on  the  earthly  Mount  Zion,  and  (2) 
the  call  of  the  Gospel  to  the  nations,  the  last  warning  to  all 
apostates,  the  climax  of  the  Tribulation,  the  harvest  and  the 
Vintage  at  the  Second  Coming  of  Christ.  The  time  is  under 
the  yth  trumpet,  or  7  I'ials.  In  xv.  we  have  a  special  introduc- 
tion to  the  vials,  Israel's  martyrs  in  Heaven  preluding  the  vic- 
tory of  the  Kingdom  of  God  and  the  universal  conversion  of 
the  nations.  In  xvi.  the  7  vials  pnur  the  7  last  plagues  upon  the 
Antichrist  and  his  kingdom,  finishing  the  mystery  of  God,  and 


250  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

bring-ing  in  the  Kingdom  of  God  in  victory,  amid  cosmic  con- 
vulsions and  judgments  unknown  before.  The  Episode  be- 
tween the  6th  and  7th  vials  so  rapidly  afi'used,  is  the  brief  w'ord 
111  Rcz'.  xvi.,  75,  16,  aiinoiinciiig  the  near,  imminent  and  im- 
pending Adzrnf  of  the  Lord  for  His  saints  at  the  "thief -time," 
and  repeating  the  admonition,  given  by  Himself  previously  to 
the  Church,  in  Matt,  xxiv:  42-44,  "Behold  I  come  as  a  thief! 
Blessed  is  he  that  zvatehcth  and  keepeth  his  garments,  lest 
he  zualk  naked,  and  they  (the  Antichristian  zvorshippcrs)  see  his 
shame."  It  is  the  time  of  the  gathering  at  Armageddon,  Anti- 
christ gathering  his  hosts,  Christ  gathering  His  own. 

Chapters  xvii.  and  xviii.  are  explanatory  of  Babylon  and  the 
Beast,  i.  e.,  apostate  Christendom,  and  its  relations  in  the  last 
time,  and  paint  in  drastic  colors  the  fall  of  Rome.  Chapter  xix. 
brings  the  loud  "Hallelujahs"  and  the  announcement  that  the 
time  for  the  marriage  of  the  Lamb  to  His  long-divorced  but 
now  repentant  "wife,"  the  Jewish  Church,  has  come.  The 
same  chapter  gives  us  again  the  Second  Advent  and  the  de- 
struction of  the  Antichrist  at  Jerusalem,  as  at  the  close  of  xiv. 
Chapter  xx:  1-6,  gives  us  the  binding  of  Satan,  and  resumes 
the  Resurrection,  given  in  xi.  and  implied  in  xiv.,  in  order  to 
associate  the  same  with  the  kingdom  of  the  i.ooo  years.  All 
that  Joel,  Isaiah,  Daniel,  Ezekiel  and  Zechariah  have  spoken 
concerning  the  Valley  of  Jehoshaphat,  the  Mount  of  Olives, 
Zion.  Jerusalem  and  Israel,  the  Antichrist  and  the  nations  in 
the  last  crisis  is  here  involved.  John  expressly  adds  Rome, 
Armageddon  and  Jerusalem.  As  in  Daniel,  so  in  John's  Apoc- 
alypse, the  tzco  cities  around  which  the  whole  Revelation  re- 
volves are  Jerusalem,  and  Rome  the  capital  of  the  Fourth  Em- 
pire. John  expressly  emphasizes  Rome,  Jerusalem,  Arma- 
geddon and  the  Valley  of  Jehoshaphat,  which  he  calls  the 
"winepress  outside  the  city."  As  in  the  beginning  of  the  Chris- 
tian age,  Jerusalem  fell  and  Rome  arose  to  be  the  centrrd  city 
of  the  Christian  age  for  a  1,000  years,  so  at  the  end  of  our  age 
Rome  shall  fall  and  Jerusalem  "arise"  and  "shine."  the  cen- 
tral city  of  the  millennial  age.  How  completely  the  roles  are 
reversed  in  the  providence  of  God! 

Thus  the  great  peculiarity  of  the  Apocalypse  is 
precisely  that  of  Daniel  and  the  Olivet  Discourse, 
only  drawn  out  more  at  length,  viz.,  that  when  we 
think  we  have  reached  the  "End,"  still  "the  End  is  not  yet," 
since  the  "End"  has  its  own  development.  When  we  came  to 
'jic  End  in  Dan.  ii..  still  it  was  not  yet,  but  a  new  series  of 
visions  developed  as  in  vii.    And  so  again  in  the  succeeding 


APPENDIX. 


^51 


prophecies.  So  was  it  in  tlie  Olivet  Discourse.  When  we 
came  to  the  period  of  universal  war,  and  supposed  the  "End" 
had  come,  still  the  End  was  not  yet,  but  only  the  "beginning  of 
sorrows."  x\nd  when,  again,  vve  reached  the  extension  of  the 
(jospel  to  all  nations,  still  the  End  was  further  aeveloped  by  a 
retrogression  to  the  middle  of  the  70th  week,  thence  advancing 
to  the  Parousia  itself.  So  it  is  with  the  series  of  the  7  Epistles, 
7  seals,  7  trumpets  and  7  vials.  Bj  an  iyigeniously  divine  ar- 
rangement the  whole  drama  of  the  future  is  disposed  into 
different  series  of  seven  visions  each,  the  Jth  in  each  case 
blooming  into  a  neiv  series,  tmtil  the  yth  vial,  the  ''Vial  of 
the  Consnmmatio7i,^^  is  reached.  Two  of  these  series  are 
parallel,  the  remaining  two  entering  en  echelon,  each  later 
than  the  other.  Nothing  is  clearer  to  him  who  un- 
stands  the  structure  of  the  Apocalypse  than  its  organic 
relation  to  the  Book  of  Daniel  and  the  CJlivet  Discourse.  That 
Discourse  is  the  link  between  them.  Daniel's  prophecy  of  the 
h'ourth  Empire  furnishes  the  ground  lines  for  both,  the  frame 
into  which  both  are  set.  Daniel's  4th  Beast  is  John's  Roman 
Beast.  The  10  Horns  in  Daniel  are  the  10  Horns  in  John 
The  "Little  Horn"  in  Daniel  vii.  is  the  personal  Beast  who 
ascends  from  the  abyss  in  John,  Paul's  "Alan  of  Sin,"  "the 
Antichrist,"  "the  prince  to  come"  in  ix:  27,  "the  king"  in  xi: 
36,  40-45.  the  Beast  in  Rev.  xiii:  5;  xi:  7,  and  xvii:  8;  the 
"8th  head"  in  xvii:  11,  the  personal  Antichrist  being  the  whole 
Beast  itself,  the  one  in  whom  the  whole  x\ntichristian  empire 
in  Europe  Asia  and  Africa  is  centred  in  the  last  times.  Is- 
rael, in  Daniel,  is  both  apostate  Israel,  and  the  144,000  of  elect 
Israel  in  John  "the  People  of  the  Saints  of  the  Most  High." 
The  70th  week  in  Dan.  ix:  27,  is  the  70th  week  in  Rev.  xi: 
2,  3,  7.  The  1,260  days  of  Great  Tribulation  are  the  "shor- 
tened days"  in  Alatt.  xxiv:  21,  22,  and  "short  time"  in  Rev. 
xii:  12.  Michael  standing  up  in  Dan.  xii:  i,  is  Michael  stand- 
ing up  in  Rev.  xii:  6.  The  "these  my  brethren"  in  Matt,  xxv: 
40,  are  the  "our  brethren"  in  Rev.  xii:  10,  ii,  the  "People  of 
the  Saints  of  the  Most  High  in  Dan.  vii:  27.  The  Son  of  Man 
coming  in  the  clouds.  Dan.  vii:  13,  is  the  Son  of  Man  in  the 
clouds.  Rev.  i:  7,  and  xiv:  14,  and  in  Matt,  xxiv:  29-31.  The 
resurrection  of  the  holy  dead,  Dan.  .xii:  2,j,  is  the  resurrection 
in  Matt,  xxiv:  jo,  jr,  followed  by  the  rapture,  xxiv:  ^0-4^;  i. 
e.  the  resurrection  in  Rev.  xi:  18;  implied  also  ifi  Rev.  xiv:  ij, 
the  reaping  of  the  living  saints.  Rev.  xiv:  14-16,  and  their  en- 
thronement in  Rev.  xx:  3-6.  The  destruction  of  the  Antichrist 
and  his  allies,  Dan.  vii:  25.  26;  xii:  7,  is  the  destruction  in 
Rev.  vi:  15-17;  xi:  18;  xix:  11-21;  xiv:  20,  at  Jerusalem.    The 


252  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

kingdom  in  victory  imderncalh  all  heavens,  Dan.  vii:  2j;  ii: 
4.4.^  is  the  kingdom  in  Matt,  xxv:  j/,  and  in  Rev.  xt:  /j,  ayid 
XX:  6,  and xii:  10.  The  conversion  of  Israel,  Dan.  ix:  24,  is 
their  conversion  in  Matt,  xxiii:  39,  and  in  Rev.  xii:  10,  11. 
Such  is  the  organic  unity  of  these  three  great  predictions  in 
Daniel,  Matthew  and  John.  If  the  Vision  of  Judgment,  Dan, 
vii.,  is  not  a  prophecy  of  the  literal  Second  Advent  of  Christ  in 
person,  to  set  up  His  millennial  kingdom  in  triumph  over  all 
the  earth,  but  is  mere  "judicial  poetry,"  the  authority  of  Christ 
and  His  Apostles  and  the  whole  New  Testament  eschatology 
are  wrecked.  The  literal  Second  Coming  is  annihilated  h^ 
every  figurative  and  spiritualizing  process  of  interpretation. 
In  the  Apocalypse  the  Advcnl  is  represented  in  various  ways, 
under  various  symbols,  in  order  to  express  its  relations  to  the 
various  characters  and  events  of  the  closing  scene  at  the  end 
of  the  age.  //  enters  the  drama  no  less  than  7  times:  (i)  After 
the  6th  Epistle,  in  its  relation  to  the  out-spued  Church  of  the 
End-Time;  (2)  under  the  6th  seal,  in  its  relation  to  the  doom 
of  the  world-power;  (3)  under  the  7th  trumpet,  in  its  relation 
to  the  resurrection  of  the  holy  dead;  (4)  in  the  programme- 
chapter,  in  its  relation  to  the  reaping  of  the  living  saints  and 
their  separation  from  the  wicked  thrown  into  the  winepress; 
(5)  in  the  vial-visions,  after  the  6th  vial,  in  its  relation  to  the 
gathering  at  Armageddon;  (6)  again  under  the  vials,  in  its 
relation  to  the  destruction  of  the  Antichrist  at  Jerusalem,  a 
special  picture  connected  with  the  binding  of  Satan,  the  re- 
sumption of  the  resurrection,  to  which  is  added  the  enthrone- 
ment of  the  saints  and  the  1,000  years;  (7)  in  the  epilogue,  in  its 
relation  to  the  theme  of  the  whole  book,  hi  all  these  repre- 
sentatio7is  the  time-point  of  the  Advent  for  the  Cluoch  is  the 
close  of  the  Great  Tribulation.  Such  the  law  and  the  structure 
of  the  Apocalypse,  in  perfect  harmony  with  the  Olivet  Dis- 
course, Daniel  and  all  the  prophets — from  Rev.  iii.  to  xx. 
There  is  no  Advent  of  any  kind,  anywhere,  for  any  purpose,  in 
all  the  Tiible,  save  the  First  Advent,  prior  to  the  close  of  the 
Great  Tribulation,  i.  e.,  prior  to  the  "tJiicf-fiuic.'"  The  ''tliicf- 
fiinc"  in  Rev.  xvi:  15,  is  the  "fJiicf-tinic"'  in  Matt,  xxiv:  44. 

And  now  as  to  John's  development  of  Daniel's  70th  week. 
That  week  enters  in  Rev.  xi.  Chapter  xii.  shows  the  con- 
version of  the  Jews,  as  xiii.  shows  the  empire  of  the  Beast  and 
the  Great  Tribulation,,  which  extends  to  xx.  Chapter  xiv, 
after  an  anticipating  scene  of  new-born  Israel,  with  their  Re- 
deemer come  to  them  on  the  exalted  earthly  Mount  Zion,  gives 
us  a  view  of  the  state  of  the  world  during  the  last  generation 
of  men  who  survive  to  see  the  Advent,  and  of  the  last  events 


APPENDIX.  253 

before  the  Advent  itself.  It  is  the  "Time  of  the  End,"  when 
it  will  be  as  in  Noah's  day,  the  time  also  of  the  ascendancy 
of  Antichristianity  in  Europe,  Asia  and  Africa,  its  wor  d-wu  e 
power  felt  in  every  nation  under  heaven,  the  time  of  politically 
dechristianized  Christendom,  the  time  when  the  Jewish  prob- 
lem the  fate  of  the  Antichrist  and  his  allied  kings,  the  ate 
of  the  HolvLand,of  the  nations  and  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  on 
earth  must  be  decided.  Apostate  Judaism  in  league  with  Mo- 
hammedanism, both  against  Christ,  will  have  hastened  the 
end  and  the  rupture  between  the  Antichrist  and  Israel  wil 
have  hastened  the  final  crisis.  In  the  general  programnie  of 
the  end  (xiv.)  John  sees,  in  a  special  group  of  7  visions.  6  ot- 
ficiating  angels  and  the  ''Son  of  Man'  m  the  clouds  of  heaven 
The  fifst  three  are  announcers  of  the  Divme  wi  1  The  last 
three  are  the  bearers  of  Divine  orders  frotn  God  the  Father 
to  the  Son  of  Man,  who  has  now  descended  from  heaven  and 
is  now  cloud-seated  in  the  air.  Between  the  groups  the  Ad- 
vent takes  place.    The  programme  stands  thus:_ 

(i)    The  first  angel  announcing  the  Gospel,  xiv:  0,  7. 

(2).  The  second' angel  announcing  the  fall  of  Babylon,  xiv: 

8 

(3).  The  third  angel  announcing  the  doom  of  apostates,  xiv: 

^'(4).    THE    VISION    OF   THE    PAROUSIA    OF   THE    SON    OF    MAN. 

^'^5)!'The  fourth  angel  bearing  the  order  for  the  harvest. 

xiv:  15-  ,       .  •  •      ^„  4.:u 

(6)  The  fifth  angel,  coming  and  waiting,  xiv:  17,  till  _ 
(7).  The  sixth  angel  comes  and  orders  the  vintage,  xiv:  18. 
In  other  words,  John  sees  the  Zenith-Angel  flying  m  the 
path  of  the  sun.  uttering  the  last  call  of  the  Everlasting  Gos- 
pel to  the  nations,  the  Judgment,  and  urging  men  to  re- 
pentance. He  sees  another  angel  in  the  air  proclaiming  the 
doom  of  Rome,  the  corruptress  of  all  the  nations  of  the  earth. 
He  see^  another  still,  and  hears  him  threatening  divine  wrath 
on  all  apostates  of  the  Antichristian  time.  It  is  the  climax  o 
the  Tribulation-.  It  is  God's  last  merciful  and  faithful  appeal 
even  to  an  antichristian  world,  the  angels  symbolizing  those 
whom  God  will  raise  up  as  messengers  to  make  the  last  call 
of  His  mercy  to  mankind  in  this  present  age,  and  the  last  faith- 
ful warning  of  the  Lord's  Coming  and  impending  Judgment. 
The  martyrs  are  falling,  the  last  blood-witnesses  of  Jesus,  in- 
terposed'is  a  benediction  from  heaven,  upon  their  graves: 
"Blessed  are  the  dead,  the  slaughtered  ones  in  the  Lord  from 
now  on  ■  Yea  saith  the  Spirit;  that  they  may  rest  from  their  labors; 


254  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

for  their  works  follow  with  //i!^';;/ . "  x  i  v ;  1 3 ,  13.  The  time-point  is 
immediately  before  the  Advent.  "From  now  on"  they  are  blest, 
because  their  works  meet  now  their  full  reward.  It  means 
their  resurrection.  Any  moment,  then,  the  Lord  may  come. 
And  He  comes!  John  sees  what  Daniel  saw,  and  the  Lord 
Himself  foretold,  "One  like  the  Son  of  Alan  on  the  clonds,"  but 
"having-  on  His  h-ead  a  golden  crown  (the  crown  of  life,  sym- 
bol of  the  resurrection)  and  a  sharp  sickle  in  His  hand."  It 
is  Matt,  xiii:  39-43.  And  now  that  Christ  is  cloud-seated  in 
the  air,  the  order-bearing  angels  bring  to  Him  the  word  from 
God  the  Father  to  commence  and  execute  the  judgment.  With 
loud  voice  the  Harvest-Angel  delivers  the  command  to  Him 
who  sits  on  the  cloud.  "Thrust  in  the  sickle  and  reap,  for  the 
harvest  of  the  earth  is  over-ripe."  Man's  wickedness  is  great, 
and  the  time  to  separate  the  holy  living  ones  has  come.  The 
earth  is  reaped,  the  wheat  separated  from  the  chafT,  and, 
with  the  holy  risen  ones,  both  are  raptured  to  meet  the  Lord 
in  the  air.  It  is  after  the  6th  vial.  It  is  Armageddon-time. 
It  is  Matt,  xxiv:  40,  41.  Next,  John  sees  the  Vintage-Angel 
descending  from  the  Temple  in  Heaven,  yet  waiting  till  the 
Altar-Angel  follows  and  cries  with  loud  voice  again  to  the 
cloud-seated  Son  of  Man,  "Thrust  in  thy  sharp  siekle  and 
gather  the  elusfers  of  the  vine  of  the  earth;  for  her  grapes  are 
fully  ripe."  The  earth's  corrupted  vine  is  reaped,  its  clusters 
piled  into  the  winepress  of  the  wrath  of  God  outside  the  city 
of  Jerusalem.  The  blood  flows  up  to  the  horses'  bridles,  dis- 
coloring the  streams  and  rivers,  bridle-deep,  1,600  furlongs  ofif. 
It  is  the  land  of  Palestine  that  is  the  theatre  of  war.  The  scene 
is  the  Valley  of  Jehoshaphat,  that  Joel  saw,  as  did  Isaiah  and 
Zechariah.  It  is  the  settlement  of  what  we  call  the  "Eastern 
Question"  in  the  "Great  Day  of  God  Almighty;"  the  same 
Judgment  pictured  further  on  under  the  Rider  on  the  White 
Horse  from  an  opened  heaven.  Such  the  programc-chapter 
developing  the  events  of  the  70th  week,  first  mentioned  in  the 
prophet  Daniel. 

After  a  special  introduction  to  the  vials.  Chapter  xv.  comes 
the  final  group  of  7  visions,  the  vial-visions  in  Chapter  xvi., 
showing  the  mode  in  which  what  was  programmed  in  xv.  is 
fulfilled.  The  first  4  vials,  poured  upon  the  earth,  sea,  river 
sources  and  the  sun  in  Europe,  Asia  and  Africa,  poison  the 
waters  so  needful  for  man,  and  infect  the  atmo'spherc  and  land 
with  plagues  made  terrible  by  the  scorching  heat  of  the  sun.  It 
means  great  naval  and  military  warfare.  East  and  West  alike; 
the  hot,  bleak  mountains  and  the  arid  sands  burning  the  feet 
of  antichristian  hosts,  and  scorching  their  heads;  where  water 


APPENDIX. 


255 


is,  yet  "not  a  drop  to  drink,"  the  carnage  is  so  great;  tlie  world 
still  impenitent  and  still  blaspheming.  The  5th  vial  spreads 
darkness  over  the  seat  and  the  kingdom  of  the  Antichrist, 
darkness  thick  as  that  of  Egypt;  Jerusalem  is  darkened,  as  at 
the  Crucifixion.  Sun,  moon  and  stars  refuse  to  shine.  In  the 
East  the  Euphrates  is  dried  up  under  the  6th  vial,  to  speed 
the  march  of  the  allies  of  the  Antichrist  to  Armageddon.  The 
kings  of  the  whole  earth,  now  quarreling  among  themselves, 
meet,  with  their  armies,  in  the  Holy  Land  for  the  last  struggle. 
Rev.  xvi:  12-16.  "Behold,  I  come  as  a  thief!  Blessed  is  he  that 
zuatchcth."  It  is  the  Advent,  the  Resurrection-Time.  Then 
the  7th  vial,  "the  Vial  of  the  Consummation."  "Done!"  The 
last  act  of  the  tragedy  of  the  Warfare  Great  is  completed,  amid 
atmospheric  phenomena  of  rapidly  alternate  heat  and  cold, 
earthquake,  cosmic  phenomena.  Olivet  sundered,  Holy  Land 
upheaving  and  subsiding,  cities  falling,  mountains  disappear- 
ing, islands  fleeing  away,  Rome's  place  subgulfed,  hailstones  a 
talent's  weight  smiting  the  foe,  the  wicked  calling  on  the  rocks 
to  hide  them  from  the  face  and  the  wrath  of  the  Lamb. 
Specially,  and  after  the  explanations  given  in  Chapters  xvii. 
and  xviii.,  John  hears  the  thundering  "Hallelujahs"  in  Heaven 
over  the  fall  of  apostate  Christendom,  and  the  announcement 
that  the  time  of  the  marriage  of  the  Lamb  to  His  long-divorced 
but  now  repentant  "wife,"  New-Born  Israel,  has  come.  The 
vision  closes  with  the  picture  of  the  Antichrist's  destruction 
(Rev.  xix:  11-21),  the  binding  of  Satan  and  the  resumption  of 
the  resurrection  scene  in  order  to  connect  it  with  the  king- 
dom of  the  1,000  years.  Rev.  xx:  1-6.  So  ends  our  present 
age.  So  comes  the  Kingdom  of  God  to  victory  under  all 
heavens.  The  Colossus  has  become  as  "the  chaff  of  the  sum- 
mer threshing  floor."  The  nations,  purged  by  judgment,  and 
destruction  of  the  wicked  who  have  failed  to  see  the  hand  of 
Cod  and  refused  to  listen  to  the  last  call  of  the  Gospel,  are 
saved.  It  is  God's  "strange  work."  "I  will  sing  of  judgment 
and  of  mercy;  unto  thee,  O  God,  I  will  sing!"  Ps.ci:  i.  Thus 
has  John  unfolded  and  filled,  in  detail,  the  Vision  of  Judgment 
seen  bv  Daniel  in  Chapter  vii.,  and  expanded  in  our  Lord's 
Olivet  Discourse.  The  unity  of  prophecy  is  indestructible.  A 
millennial  age  before  the  Lord  comes  is  impossible.  Only 
through  the  Messianic  Judgment  can  the  w^orld  ever  attain 
to  an  age  of  universal  righteousness  and  peace.  This,  the 
concert  of  all  the  prophets,  Christ  and  His  Apostles. 


VI. 

GOG  AND  THE  ANTICHRIST. 

Ezekiel's  great  prophecy,  Chapters  xxxviii.  and  xxxix.,  ex- 
hibits the  war  march  of  the  northern  power,  in  the  last 
days,  against  Palestine,  for  the  purpose  of  acquiring  wealth 
and  territory,  the  Jews  having  returned  in  large  numbers  to 
their  land,  dwelling  peacefully,  and  engaged  in  agricultural 
and  commercial  pursuits.  It  is  a  state  of  things  impossible 
except  by  consent  of  the  Ottoman  power.  The  line  of  Gog's 
march  is  from  north  to  south,  then,  turning  westward,  cross- 
ing the  Euphrates,  moving  through  Syria  toward  the  Holy 
Land;  yet  southwardly  also,  gathering  the  nations  around 
him  as  he  goes,  and  subsidizing  to  his  standards  the  Ethiopi- 
ans and  the  Lybians,  i.  e.,  the  tribes  of  North  and  South  Af- 
rica. On  the  western  side  of  Palestine  he  moves  from  the 
Crimean  region,  the  land  of  the  Gomer,  or  the  Gimirra  of  the 
manunients,  the  Kimmerians  or  Gomerites,  and  doubtless 
through  the  Dardanelles  to  the  ^E^gean  Sea  and  the  Mediter- 
ranean, turning  eastward  to  Palestine,  with  his  ships  of  war. 
Elis  march  is  challenged  by  Arabia  and  the  Mediterranean  na- 
tions, including  the  British  Isles,  as  they  were  included  in 
ancient  times  in  the  term  "Tarshish,"  which  passed  from  its 
local  significance  (Tartessus  opposite  Gibraltar)  to  a  wider 
one,  involving  the  whole  commercial  trade  of  the  West  upon 
the  Middle  Sea.  In  concert  with  these  are  their  colonial  de- 
pendencies, represented  as  the  "young  lions,"  i.  e.,  the  princes 
or  rulers  who  govern  them. 

The  prophecy  of  Ezekicl  is  based,  historically,  on  the  fact 
of  the  previous  invasion  of  Palestine  by  the  Scythian  hordes 
from  above  the  Caucasus,  in  the  days  of  josiah;  in  consequcnje 
of  which  the  name  "Scythopolis"  was  given  by  the  Greeks  to 
"P>ethshean"  (Beisan),  where  the  Scythians  camped  at  the 
eastern  end  of  the  plain  of  Esdraelon,  not  far  from  Megiddo  or 
Har-Magedon.  It  relates  to  the  far  future,  and  foretells  an- 
other invasion  of  the  Holy  Land,  "in  the  latter  days,"  by  the 
same  great  northern  power,  strong  in  horsemen  and  in  vessels 
of  war.  Interpreters  have  seen  in  the  invasion  of  Palestine  by 
Antiochus  Epiphanes  a  preliminary  fulfillment  of  the  prophe- 
cy. Others  have  seen  a  yet  stronger  fulfillment  in  the  invasion 
of  the  land  by  the  Moslem,  and  again  bv  the  Turk.  Both  there 
views  are  fanciful,  since  neither  Antioclnis,  nor  the  Moslem, 

(-55) 


APPENDIX. 


257 


nor  the  Turk,  ever  had  an  army  such  as  is  here,  composed  of 
m^ny  nations,  nor  moved  as  Gog  moves,  nor  did  they  ever 
meet  his  fate.  Moreover,  the  time  of  the  fulfillment  of  the 
prophecy  is  strictly  the  time  of  Israel's  last  Great  Tribulation 
and  re-establishment  in  the  Holy  Land.  Clearly,  this  war- 
march  is  pre-millennial,  not  that  described  in  John's  Apoca- 
lypse, and  contemporates  with  the  last  campaign  of  the  Anti- 
christ. Dan.  ii:  40-45.  Both  Daniel  and  Ezekiel  see  the  same 
end  of  Israel's  conllict;  the  difference  this:  That,  whereas^ 
Daniel's  vision  is  confined  to  the  cultured  nations  within  the 
hmits  of  the  old  Roman  territory,  Ezekiel's  has  to  do  with  the 
semi-civilized  and  barbarous  nations  and  tribes  outside  the 
cultured  centre  of  the  Old  World.  The  two  visions,  therefore, 
given  by  these  two  prophets  of  the  exile  embrace  the  three 
continents  of  the  Old  World,  their  relations  to  thcjews  in  the 
"latter  years"  and  the  final  struggle  of  the  ancient  people  of 
God.  That  Gog's  march  is,  first  of  all.  /'/T-millennial  is  evi- 
dent from  Ezek.  xxxviii:  16,  21-23;  xxxix:  21-29. 

The  question  of  critical  interest  is  this:  Is  Ezekiel's  "Gog, 
the  prince  of  Rosh,  IMesheeh  and  Tubal,"  the  same  as  the 
"Little  Horn"  in  Daniel  vii.,  the  "prince  to  come"  in  ix..  and 
"the  king"  in  xi:  36-45?  An  eminent  writer  on  the  Book  of 
Revelation,  Prof.  Eehrmann,  of  the  University  of  St.  Peters- 
burg, Russia,  asserts  the  identity,  saying  "Gog  is  the  Anti- 
christ" (Offeiibaning,  p.  14^^},  and,  like  Kliefoth,  of  Mecklen- 
burg, Germany,  pleads  this  in  the  interest  of  /^o.9/-millennialism. 
I  cannot  so  understand  it.  There  are  similarities  between 
them,  in  their  relation  to  Israel  and  the  Holy  Land.  But  sim- 
ilarity is  no  proof  of  identity.  Antiochus,  Gog  and  the  Anti- 
christ cannot  be  identified  as  one.  The  differences  are  great. 
The  Horn  in  Daniel  belongs  to  the  Roman  Empire  in  its  final 
form.  Gog  belongs  to  the  Caucasus  and  dwells  in  the  high 
north,  outside  that  empire.  Ezek.  xxxviii:  15;  xxxix:  2.  Gog  • 
makes  no  covenant  with  the  Jews.  He  does  not  slay  the  "Two 
Witnesses,"  nor  inaugurate  the  "Great  Tribulation."  His 
march  is  challenged,  which  is  not  the  case  with  the  Antichrist. 
He  descends  from  the  steppes  of  Europe  and  Asia,  gathers 
the  nations  in  his  train,  compelling  some  against  their  will, 
and  compelled  to  be  a  "guard"  over  them,  lest  they  are  in- 
duced to  turn  against  him.  Satirically,  the  prophet  bids  him 
"beware."  Like  the  Antichrist,  he  is  full  of  Antisemitism,  a 
hater  of  Israel  since  God  declares,  "O,  Gog,  I  am  against 
thee!"  As  the  power  rulinsf  the  north,  he  "comes  against"  the 
Antichrist.  Dan.  ii:  40.  The  Antichrist's  destructio>n  is  at  Je- 
rusalem (Dan.  ii:  45),  Gog's  grave  is  in  the  Vallev  of  the 


258  DANIELS  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

Crossers  over,  East  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea,"  the  Valley  of 
Megiddo,  the  plain  of  Esdraelon.  Ezek.  xxxix:  ii.  Joel  sees 
both  Gog  and  the  Antichrist,  sees  both  the  "Valley  of  De- 
cision" and  the  "Valley  of  Jehoshaphat."  His  word  for  "mul- 
titudes" in  the  "Valley  of  Decision"  is  "Hamonim"  (Joel  iii: 
14),  and  Gog's  "grave"  is  called  "Hamon-Gog"  (Ezek.  xxxix: 
15),  and  his  memorial  city  "Hamonah."  Ezek.  xxxix:  16.  Both 
and  his  memorial  city  "Hamonah."  Ezek.  xxxix:  16.  Both 
Gog  and  the  Antichrist,  though  from  different  motives,  are 
against  Israel  in  that  day,  and  God  is  against  both. 

From  all  it  seems  evident  that  Gog  is  not  the  Antichrist,  and 
that  the  invasion  of  Palestine  by  Gog  follows  its  invasion  by 
the  Antichrist,  and  occurs  under  the  6th  vial,  when  the  kings 
not  only  from  the  East,  but  "of  the  whole  world,"  are  gathered 
r.t  Har-Magedon  (Armageddon).  Rev.  xvi:  14-16.  The  last 
campaign  of  the  Antichrist  is  in  Dan.  ii:  40-45;  that  of  Gog 
is  in  Ezek.  xxxviii:  4-12,  15,  16.  The  result  in  each  case  is  the 
destruction  of  both,  the  deliverance  of  Israel,  the  victory  of  the 
kingdom  and  the  sanctification  of  God's  great  name  among 
all  nations.    That  is  the  end  of  the  "Warfare  Great." 


VII. 
CANON  FARRAR  AND  THE  BOOK  OF  DANIEL. 

In  his  late  work  on  the  "Book  of  Daniel,"  found  in  the 
"Expositor's  Bible,"  the  Very  Rev.  F.  W,  Farrar,  D.  D., 
V.  R.  S.,  Dean  of  Canterbury,  Archdeacon  of  Westminster 
and  late  Fellow  of  Trinity  College,  has  the  following: 

'' If  otir  Lord  and  His  Apostles  regarded  the  Book  of  Dayiiel 
as  containing  the  viost  explicit  prophecies  of  Himself  and  His 
Kingdom,  why  did  they  never  appeal  or  even  allude  to  it,  to  prove 
that  he  %vas  the  promised  Messiah?  How  came  it  that  neither 
Christ  nor  His  Apostles  eve;  once  alluded,  or  even  pointed,  to  the 
Book  of  Daniel  and  the  Prophecy  of  the  Severity  Weeks,  as  contain- 
ing  the  least  germ  of  evidcice  in  favor  of  Christ' s  Alission,  or  the 
Gospel  preaching?  "     Book  of  Daniel,  pp.  loj,  104..  {189^). 

This  is  simply  the  reproduction  of  Kuenen  in  his  "Prophets 
of  Israel,"  a  work  he  ordered  to  be  suppressed  as  death  drew 
near.  The  assumption  is  that  no  such  appeal  w^as  made,  and 
the  conclusion  is  that  the  Book  of  Daniel  has  nothing  to  do 
with  Jesus  Christ,  or  with  any  events  under  the  Roman  Em- 
pire. Such  the  Higher  Criticism!  The  assumption  and  con- 
clusion are  alike  false.  Both  Christ  and  His  Apostles  "al- 
luded," "appealed"  and  "pointed"  to  the  Book  of  Daniel  and 
his  70  weeks'  prophecy,  and  many  times,  in  proof  of  His 
Messiahship.  That  book  was  the  most  popular  and  best  read 
book  of  all  the  Old  Testament  in  the  days  of  Christ.  The 
Jewish  nation,  the  Fligh  Priest,  the  Sanhedrin,  all  regarded 
it  as  jMessianic.  The  burning  question  of  the  day  was  the 
Messiahship  of  Jesus.  "Art  thou  the  Christ?"  Many  other 
proofs  He  adduced  from  other  books  of  the  prophets  in  con- 
nection Avith  His  person,  words  and  w^orks.  yet  to  none  did  He 
appeal  more  powerfully  than  to  those  in  the  Book  of  Daniel. 
The  great  polemic  between  Himself  and  the  Jews  involved 
that  book,  and  especially  the  70  weeks'  prophecy:  since,  ac- 
cording to  that  prophecy,  Alessiah  must  have  "come"  and 
been  "cut  off"  between  the  building  and  destruction  of  the 
second  Temple.  It  is  our  contention  with  the  Jews,  to-day, 
the  very  centre  of  our  demonstration,  that  "Jesus"  is  "the 
Christ," — a  suffering  Messiah,  risen,  ascended  to  Heaven,  and 
to  come  again  in  the  clouds  of  heaven.  Either  "Jesus"  is  the 
"Messiah''  or  the  Book  of  Daniel  is  false,  and  the  books  of 
Other  prophets  also.     His  birth  is  set  at  the  close  of  the  69th 

(259) 


26o  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

week.  Gabriel,  moreover,  who  gave  that  prophecy,  had  come 
to  preside  over  its  fulfiHrnent,  announcing  the  birth  of  "Prince 
Messiah"  as  that  of  "Christ  the  Lord."  The  proofs  of  the 
falsity  of  Canon  Farrar's  assumptions  are  abundant: 

1.  The  debate  of  Jesus  zvifJi  the  Jews,  recorded  in  John.  As 
Messiah,  asserting  His  judicial  supremacy  and  authority  to 
hold  the  Messianic  judgment  and  bring  to  pass  the  resurrec- 
tion and  the  life,  which  Daniel  predicted  (Dan.  xii:  2,  3;  vii: 
13), He  said:  "I  am  the  Resurrection  and  the  Life."  John  xi:  25. 
Still  more:  "The  Father  judgeth  no  man,  but  hath  committed 
all  judgment  to  the  Son,  and  hath  given  Him  authority  to 
execute  judgment  because  He  is  the  Son  of  Man;"  i.  e.,  be- 
cause He  is  the  One  described  in  the  Vision  of  Judgment  in 
the  Book  of  Daniel.  Again,  "The  hour  is  coming,  and  now 
is,  when  the  dead  shall  hear  the  voice  of  the  Son  oif  God,  and 
they  that  hear  shall  live,"  John  v:  22,  25,  2y — a  fact  fulfilled 
in  the  resurrection  of  Lazarus  and  at  the  crucifixion,  and  yet 
to  be  fulfilled  in  the  last  day.  The  "appeal"  is  direct  to  Dan. 
vii.,  with  which  Dan.  xii.  is  inseparably  connected.  All  the 
reader  has  to  do  is  to  attach  Dan.  xii.  to  the  close  of  Dan.  vii. 
and  see  the  connection.  So  well  was  the  allusion  known,  that 
to  have  named  the  Book  of  Daniel  would  have  been  no  less 
superfluous  than  to  tell  us  to-day  that  the  recital  of  the  resur- 
rection of  Lazarus  may  be  found  in  the  Gospel  of  John.  From 
the  vision  in  Dan.  vii.  the  title  "Son  of  Man" — "Bar  EnasJi'' — 
given  to  Messiah,  was  taken  and  used  by  Jesus,  the  Jews  and 
the  Apostles,  84  times  in  the  New  Testament.  The  appeal 
to  the  Book  of  Daniel  to  prove  that  Jesus  was  the  "Son  of 
Man"  and  "Son  of  God,"  i.  e..  Son  of  the  "Father,"  the 
"Ancient  of  Days,"  and  therefore  "Messiah,"  and  that  to 
Him  the  judgment  the  resurrection  and  the  life  were  com- 
mitted, could  not  have  been  more  direct.  The  Jews  so  under- 
stood it,  and  "marveled"  that  the  Nazarene  assumed  to  Him- 
self prerogatives  pertaining  only  to  God.  It  asserted  no  less 
than  the  supernatural  constitution  of  the  person  of  Messiah 
as  both  God  and  Man,  and.  therefore,  of  Jesus  Himself.  Jesus 
did  "appeal,"  "allude"  and  "point"  to  the  Book  of  Daniel  in 
proof  of  His  Messianic  claims.  It  is  a  IMessianic  book,  and 
does  predict  events  under,  the  Roman  or  Fourth  Prophetic 
Empire,  in  spite  of  the  Critics,  and  of  Farrar.  thcfr  second  and 
third  hand  imitator  and  repeater. 

2.  The  answer  to  the  JligJi  Priest.  Li  a  paroxysm  of  rage 
the  High  Priest,  contesting  the  claims  of  Jesus,  vociferated, 
"I  adjure  thee  by  the  living  God,  that  thou  tell  us  whether  thou 


APPENDIX.  261 

be  the  Messiah,  the  Son  of  God!"  Caiaphas  himself  is  alluding 
and  pointing  to  Dan.  vii.  as  well  as  to  other  prophecies.  Could 
the  answer  be  misunderstood?  "Hereafter  ye  shall  see  the 
Son  of  Man  sitting  on  the  right  hand  of  power,  and  coming 
in  the  clouds  of  heaven."  Matt,  xxvi:  63,  64.  Vain  the  effort 
of  the  critics,  saying  that  the  name  of  the  book  is  not  men- 
tioned. The  whole  Sanhedrin  understood  it,  and  condemned 
Him  to  death  for  blasphemy.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  Jesus 
identified  Himself  with  the  "Son  of  Man"  in  that  judgment 
scene.  That  He  did  so  in  His  Mount  Olivet  Discourse,  two 
days  previotisly,  is  self-evident.     Matt,  xxiv:  29-31. 

3.  Again,  did  our  Lord  never  once  "appeal,"  or  so  much 
as  "allude"  or  "point"  to  the  70  weeks'  prophecy?  "These 
arc  the  words  I  spake  unto  you  while  yet  I  was  with  you,  that 
all  things  must  be  fulfilled  which  were  written  in  the  Law  of 
Moses,  and  in  the  Prophets,  and  in  the  Psalms,  coneeniing  Me. 
Then  opened  He  their  understanding  that  they  might  under- 
stand the  Scriptures,  and  said  unto  them.  Thus  it  is  zvritteii, 
and  thus  it  behoved  Messiah  to  suffer  and  to  rise  again  from 
the  dead  the  third  day.  And,  beginning  at  Moses  and  all  the 
Prophets,  He  expounded  unto  them,  in  all  the  Scriptures,  the 
things  concerning  Himself."  Luke  xxiv:  27,  44,  45.  Here  is 
a  dispute  between  rs  and  the  Jews.  They  refuse  to  admit  a 
suffering  Messiah.  Only  5  days  before  this  exposition  He  had 
dignified  Daniel  as  "Daniel  the  Prophet,"  and,  in  keen  fore- 
sight of  the  Higher  Criticism  of  our  times,  as  well  as  in  re- 
proof of  the  critics  of  His  own  time,  uttered  these  words, — a 
crushing  testimony  Canon  Farrar  would  take  from  the  Lord's 
own  mouth  on  the  authority  of  two  corrupted  codices  where 
the  expression  is  omitted!  That  Daniel's  book  was  a  part  of 
of  the  Old  Testament  "Scriptures"  cannot  be  denied.  Nor 
can  it  be  denied  that  the  Book  of  Daniel,  as  we  have  it,  was  the 
standard  Palestinian  and  Temple  text  of  the  prophet,  turned 
into  Greek  250  years  before  Christ  was  born,  and  accepted  by 
the  Jews,  Christ  and  His  Apostles,  as  part  of  the  God-breathed 
and  closed  canon  of  the  Scriptures,  authoritative  in  the  mouth 
of  Christ.  Nor  can  the  critics  deny  that  the  70  weeks'  prophe- 
cy is  the  only  prophecy  in  that  book  which  foretells  that  iNIes- 
siah  should  be  "cut  off"— a  Messiah  the  critics  would  make 
to  be  "Onias  HL,  P>.  C.  170!"  as  Canon  Farrar  also  does,  as 
a  matter  of  course.  Dan.  ix:  26.  Nor  will  it  be  denied  that  the 
rubric,  "the  Psalms,"  because  of  their  place  at  the  head  of 
this  whole  "Third  Division"  of  the  Jewnsh  Scriptures,  was  a 
title  given  to  the  whole  of  that  division,  in  which  the  "Book 


262  DANIEL'S  GREAT  rROPHECY. 

of  Daniel"  stood  prominent.  The  conclusion  is  irresistible 
that,  since  our  Lord  expounded  'in  all  the  Scriptures  tJic  tilings 
concerning  Himself,"  He  did  not  omit  to  refer  to  Dan.  ix:  26, 
containing  a  si.c^nal  prediction  of  His  own  death,  and  so  did 
"appeal,"  "allude"  and  "point"  to  the  70  weeks'  prophecy 
where  that  prediction  occurs,  and  only  there  in  Daniel's  book. 
It  is  the  companion-piece  of  Isa.  liii:  4-13;  Zech.  xi:  10-13; 
xiii:  I,  7;  Ps.  xxii;  1-21.  Had  the  Lord  only  "opened  the 
understanding  of  the  critics,  their  eyes  would  have  seen  things 
now  forever  hid  from  them. 

4.  But,  more.  Our  Lord's  answer  as  to  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem  His  Advent  and  the  End  of  the  Age  is  built,  step 
by  step,  on  the  Book  of  Daniel,  and  appropriates  even  the 
terms  used  by  the  prophet  in  his  prediction  of  the  70  weeks. 
He  combines  in  His  Olivet  Discourse  the  events  found  in  the 
closing  parts,  or  Ends,  of  Daniel,  Chapters  ii.,  vii.,  ix.,  xi.,  and 
the  whole  of  xii. — i.  e.,  the  events  under  the  Roman  Empire — 
in  one  connected  prophecy,  uses  again  the  title  "Son  of  Alan," 
again  coniirming  His  claims  by  the  Book  of  Daniel.  It  is  His 
guide.  In  Matt,  xxiii:  32,  introducing  that  discourse,  and 
taking  leave  of  the  Temple,  the  words  "Fill  ye  up  the  measure 
of  vour  fathers"  are  a  direct  allusion  to  the  verb  "lecalle,"  to 
"fill  up"  or  "complete  the  transgression"  in  Dan.  ix:  24.  He 
"points"  toi  the  "abomination  of  desolation  spoken  of  by 
Daniel  the  prophet."  IMatt.  xxiv:  15;  Dan.  ix:  27;  xi:  31;  xii: 
II.  He  interprets  Daniel's  expression,  "Unto  the  End,  w^ar," 
Dan.  ix:  26,  as  "Until  the  times  of  the  Gentiles  be  fulfilled," 
Luke  xxi:  24,  and  in  all  shows  that  He  is  the  Messiah  of  the 
70  weeks'  prophecy,  and  wall  come  in  the  clouds  of  heaven, 
raise  the  dead,  destroy  the  Antichrist,  deliver  Israel,  judge 
the  nations  and  bring  His  kingdom  to  victory.  Thus  did  Lie 
"appeal"  "alkide"  and  "point"  to  Daniel's  book,  and  affirm 
that  it  contained  explicit  prophecies  of  "Llimself"  and  Llis 
"Kingdom,"  even  of  His  "Messiaship."  To  those  whose 
minds  are  warped  by  their  prejudices,  false  theories  and  false 
science,  no  book  is  darker  than  the  Sacred  Scriptures. 

Finally,  here.  It  is  from  Dan.  xii:  3  our  Lord  takes  His 
illustration  of  the  righteous  "shining  as  the  sun  in  the  king- 
dom of  their  Father,"  when  the  "Son  of  Man"  comes  to  reap 
the  harvest.  Matt,  xiii:  44.  His  illustration  of  the  "Stone" 
grinding  to  powder  is  from  Dan.  ii:  34.  His  "Times  and 
Seasons"  are  Daniel's  "Iildanoyya"  and  "Zijiinayya,"  Dan. 
ii:  21;  vii:  25;  xii:  7;  whose  chronology  it  was  not  for  His 
disciples,  then  to  know.     Acts  i:  7;  iii:  19-21.     Was  it  from 


APPENDIX.  263 

an  uninspired  novelist,  a  Alaccabean  romancer,  a  dreaming 
Hao-^adist  or  storv-framer,  our  1-ord  quoted  such  expressions? 
st^And  did  the '"Apostles"  never  even  "allude"  to  the  Book 
of  Daniel,  or  the  70  weeks'  prophecy  in  confirmation  of  the 
Master's  claims?     Peter,  in  his  second  Pentecostal  word,  not 
inly  appeids  to  "oil  the  prophets,"  Acts  iii:  18,  and  so  to  Daniel, 
concernino;  the   sufferings   of    Christ,    but   expressly   to   the 
'■Iddanayya"  and  "Zimuawa"  of  refreshing  and  restitution  for 
Israel    in  connection  with  the  finishing  of  Israel's  apostacy. 
Acts  iii-   19-21;  Dan.  ix:  24.     Pie  boldly  says  that  "all  the 
prophets    from  Samuel  and  those  that  follow  after"— there- 
fore Daniel— "have  foretold  these  days."  Acts  lii:  24.     In  his 
first  Epistle  (i  Pet.  i:  10,  n)  he  speaks  of  the  prophets  as 
"searching  what  and  what  manner  of  time"  the  Holy  Ghost 
sio-nified  when   He   "foretestified  the   sufferings   of   Messiah 
ami  the  dories  after  these,"  using  the  very  verb  (bmthi)  in 
Dan    ix-"2,  and  so  "alludes"  and  "points"  to  the  70  weeks 
prophecv.  Dan.  ix:  1-28.     Paul's  description  of  the  "Man  of 
Sin,"  in  2  Thess.  ii:  ^-8,  is  drawn  from  Dan.  viu:  11.  12;  xi:  36, 
^7-'ix-  -^7-  xii-  7.    the  special  ''Iddauawa"  and  "Zimnayya, 
or' -Times  and  Seasons/   in  i  Thess.  v:  i,  are  those  named 
bv  Daniel,  and  the  scene  at  the  close  of  the  Tribulation  (2 
thess.  i:  7.  8)— the  coming  of  the  Lord  with   His  mighty 
ano-cls— is  taken  from  Dan.  vii:  13,  and  from,  its  repetition  in 
^latt.  xxiv:  29-^1;  xxv:  31-46.     Still  more,  he  vouches  for 
the  truth  of  the  historical  parts  of  Daniel's  book  by  "appeal, 
"allusion"  and  "pointing"  to  Daniel  and  his  companions,  who 
"stopped  the  mouths  of  lions,"  "quenched  the  violence  of  fire 
and  "escaped  the  edge  of  the  sword"  on  the  plains  of  Dura,  to 
the  brave  Alaccabees    Avhose  heroism  Daniel  foretold  (Heb. 
xi:  33-35;  Dan.  vi:  22;  iii:  25;  ii:   13;  xi:  32),  and  to  the 
resurrection  in  Dan.  xii:  23.    In  i  Cor.  xv:  41  he  takes  his  star- 
illustration  of  the  Resurrection-Glorv  from  Dan.  xii:  3.  When, 
in  Gal  iv:  4,  he  speaks  of  the  "fullness  of  the  time"  when  Mes- 
ciah  was  born,  he  alludes  directly  to  the  close  of  the  69th 
week,  and  so  "appeals  and  "points"  to  the  70  weeks'  prophecy 
in  confirmation  of  the  Messiahship  of  Jesus. 

And  as  to  lohn's  testimonv  to  the  "Book  of  Daniel  and  the 
"70  weeks'  prophecv."  in  connection  with  the  Cloud-Comer 
and  Destrover  of  tlie  Antichrist,  it  is  simply  over^vhelmlng. 
His  ApocalVpse  rests  on  "Daniel's  Book,"  on  the  70  weeks 
prophecv,"  the  interval  between  the  6Qth  and  70th  weeks,  and 
the  70th  week  especially,  and  on  the  Olivet  Discourse,  as  al- 


264  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

ready  has  been  shown  in  previous  discussions.  Especially 
in  Rev.  xiv:  14-20  does  he  use  the  title,  the  "Son  of  Man,"  and 
develops  in  7  acts  the  scene  in  Dan.  vii:  13. 

Thus,  both  Jesus  and  His  Apostles,  notwithstanding  Dean 
Farrar's  provoking  assumptions,  did  "appeal,"  "allude"  and 
"point,"  many  times  and  argumentatively,  to  the  "Book  of 
Daniel"  and  to  the  "70  weeks'  prophecy"  in  direct  confirma- 
tion of  the  Messianic  claims  of  Jesus  as  the  Great  Sufferer, 
the  Raiser  of  the  dead,  the  Giver  of  Life  and  the  Judge  of  all 
mankind.  "I  am  the  Resurrection  and  the  Life."  To  deny  this 
is  to  deny  the  New  Testament.  It  is  with  Dean  Farrar  pre- 
cisely, as  with  all  perverters  of  the  Truth,  and  all  false  inter- 
preters of  prophecy,  whether  evangelical  or  rationalistic.  They 
commit  themselves  to  error,  then  "stick  to  it,"  more  anxious 
in  regard  to  their  own  reputation  than  to  the  truth  and  the 
honor  of  Christ. 

6.  We  have  dwelt  at  some  length  on  this  matter  here,  be- 
cause the  "Book  of  Daniel"  is  one  of  the  great  battlefields  of 
the  Higher  Criticism,  so  called.  The  critics  assail  its  Mes- 
sianic character  with  rare  ferocity — itugiiibus  ct  rostris.  They 
bury  talons  and  beak  into  its  flesh,  clawing  its  vitals,  i.  e.. 
its  genuineness  and  authenticity,  its  historic  credibility,  its 
miracles,  its  supernatural  prophecies,  its  integrity,  its  Mes- 
sianity,  its  eschatology,  its  reliability,  its  inspiration.  The 
whole  question,  whether  these  peerless  pages  were  written 
by  an  exilic  Daniel,  or  are  forged  doctmients.  compiled  and, 
redacted  by  a  Maccabean  novelist — a  story  book  like  Ras- 
sclas,  or  novel  like  Ivanhoe,  Daniel  Deronda  or  the  Arabian 
Nights — lies  here.  The  denial  of  their  genuineness  and  au- 
thenticity is  the  denial  of  the  "Book,"  and  the  conviction  of 
New  Testament  eschatology  as  a  dream  suggested  l5y  fables. 
No  appeal  to  certain  evangelical  scholars  who  allow  a  Macca- 
bean origin,  or  partly  so,  and  by  their  "typico-?^Iessianic" 
tlieory  seek  to  redeem  themselves,  can  avail  to  vindicate  for 
the  book  a  divine  authority.  The  same  device  might  be  ap- 
plied to  every  apocryphal  production.  The  book  is  a  unit, 
and  so  confessed  by  all.  Its  author  is  one,  and  if  its  divine 
authority  be  denied,  the  "typico-Messianic"  theory  goes  for 
nothing. 

The  nwtii'c  of  the  crusade  against  the  book  is  the  same  as 
that  of  their  assault  on  every  other  book  of  the  Bible.  It  is 
wholly  in  the  interest  of  what  they  call  their  "scientific 
n>elJwrl,"\\ho9Q  first  "li'nrkins^-rule''  is  the  denial  and  exclusion 
of  the  supernatural.    Once  admit  the  genuineness  and  authen- 


APPENDIX.  265 

ticity  of  the  book,  that  it  was  written  in  exilic  times  by  "the 
Prophet  Daniel,"  and  it  is  no  longer  possible  to  deny  the 
reality  of  miracles  and  far-sighted  prophecy  which  history 
has  verified.  The  "scientific  metliod"  and  the  "working-rule" 
go  to  the  "tomb  of  the  Capulets."  "Othello's  occupation's 
gone!"  llah'-and-half  expedients  are  alike  exegetically  and 
critically  inadmissible.  If  genuine,  it  is  authentic.  If  not  au- 
thentic, it  is  not  genuine.  It  is  both.  The  proofs  of  its  Mes- 
sianity  and  of  its  fulfillment  so  largely  already  are  legion,,  and 
never  can  be  sterilized  by  critical  devices.  Its  language  is  a 
coin  that  can  never  be  demonetized  so  long  as  the  whole  New 
Testament  escliatology  is  of  par  value  with  its  image  and  its 
superscription.  The  objective  point  of  the  whole  criticism 
is  the  compromise  of  the  character  of  Christ  and  his  convic- 
tion, either  as  a  politician  knowing  Daniel's  book  to  be  a 
fable,  yet  yielding  to  the  popular  belief  that  it  was  genuine, 
thus  supporting  his  jNIessianic  claims  by  fraud,  or  as  a  dupe, 
innocent  and  victimized  by  the  Jewish  Scribes  and  false  tra- 
ditions, and  ignorant  of  its  character.  The  outcome  of  the 
criticism  is  to  undermine  the  authority  of  Christ  in  His  per- 
son and  prophetic  office,  extinguish  His  glory  as  the  "Light 
of  the  World"  and  reduce  the  Gospel  to  a  system  of  "Ethics," 
"Humanitarianism"  and  "Sociology."  The  evidence  of  this 
is  manifold.  The  argument  of  the  critics,  that  the  Jewish  be- 
lief in  the  divine  authority  of  Daniel's  book  "proves  only  that 
it  was  in  the  Jewish  canon,  and  is  of  no  more  value  than  the 
story  of  the  sojourn  of  Jonah  in  the  belly  of  the  whale,"  is  not 
only  a  bad  logic  and  an  empty  sneer,  but  spins  upon  the  pivot 
of  the  "working-rule,"  and  hums  and  drones  its  old  objec- 
tions against  the  character  of  Jesus,  whose  belief  was  that  of 
the  Jews.  And  yet  the  sires  and  seed  of  such  views  as  these 
are  the  authorities  Dean  Farrar  cites  as  his  supports,  reckless 
of  the  consequences  to  all  who  are  infected  by  them.  It  is  a 
public  disgrace  to  Christendom  that  any  man  should  be  ac- 
cepted as  a  Christian  teacher  who  instructs  the  Church  that 
the  A'ision  of  the  Son  of  ]\lan  in  Clouds,  Dan.  vii.,  and  the 
prophecy  of  "Messiah,"  Dan.  ix.,  have  nothing  to  do  with 
Jesus  Christ,    t  gives  the  lie  to  Christ  Himself. 

"Should  a  wdse  man  utter  vain  knowledge  and  fill  his  belly 
with  the  east  wind?"  Job  xv:  2.  The  flukes  of  the  truth  and 
divine  authority  of  Daniel's  book  are  too  firmly  anchored  in 
the  Rock  of  Ages  to  suffer  the  book  to  be  endangered  by  the 
assumptions,  conjectures,  exclusions,  illicit  processes  of  the 
critics,  and  their  scientific  method.     The  inerrant  "Teacher 


266  DANIELS  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

sent  from  God"  stands  before  us  as  the  Interpreter  of  the  Old 
Testament.  Beginning  with  Aloses,  He  expounded  the  Law 
in  ilis  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  and  its  ceremonial  teaching  in 
His  sacrifice  upon  the  cross.  Beginning  with  Isaiah,  in  t^s 
Synagogue,  He  expounded  the  prophets,  showing  that  the_y 
spake  of  Him.  Beginning  with  David,  He  expounded  the 
Psalms  down  to  His  dying  day.  A  Critic  He  was  against  the 
higher  critics  of  His  time  who  would  deny  to  Daniel  the  rank 
of  a  "prophet,''  and  against  the  critics  of  our  time  who  do 
deny  to  Daniel  and  to  Moses  the  authorship  of  "Scriptures" 
dictated  by  Himself.  A  critic  He  was  against  he  lower  critics 
who  sought  to  break  the  Scripture  and  make  vain  the  Word  of 
God  by  tlicir  traditions;  a  Critic  He  was  against  Satan  him- 
self, who  first  redacted  the  xcth  Psalm,  then  falsely  ciuoted  it. 
In  all  things,  moral,  religious,  textual  and  critical,  He  asserted 
His  superiority,  and  confounded  the  Scribes  and  the  priests. 
From  Him,  arid  by  His  Spirit,  the  Apostles  learned  to  read 
and  understand  the  Old  Testament,  and  for  us,  to-day,  He  is 
our  Teacher,  if  we  will  but  hear  His  voice.  It  is  enough  to 
know  that  the  whole  question  of  the  supernatural — of  miracles 
and  prophecy — comes  at  last  to  be  no  less  than  one  concerning 
the  person  and  authority  of  Jesus  Himself,  a  question  whose 
solution  depends  upon  the  recognition  of  a  personal  God  on 
the  one  hand,  able  to  produce  s.xh  a  Person,  and,  on  the 
other  hand,  upon  the  credibility  of  human  testimony,  which 
cannot  be  discredited  by  lack  of  this  or  that  man's  experi- 
ence, or  lack  in  this  or  that  age,  nor  by  any  preconceived  con- 
clusions or  assumptions  built  on  sceptical  grounds.  To  this  it 
comes  at  last,  "Christ  or  the  critics — which?"  and  to  a  true 
believer  the  answer  can  neither  be  difficult  nor  doubtful.  Each 
man  must  choose  for  himself,  and  with  the  full  consciousness 
that  "whosoever  shall  fall  on  this  Stone  shall  be  broken,  but 
on  whomsoever  it  shall  fall  it  will  grind  him  to  pozvder!" 


VIII. 
CHILIASM. 

The  word  "Chiliasm'"  means  ''Millcnnialismy  or  the  doctrine 
of  "t}ic  1,000  years"  in  Rev.  xx:  i-6,  the  Greek  terms  for  which 
are,  in  Enghsh  letters,  ''Cliilia  Etc" — "a  thousand  years."  It 
stands  for  'Trc-AIillenniahsm,"  by  which  is  meant  that  the 
Second  Coming  of  Christ  in  Daniel  and  the  Revelation,  as 
in  all  the  Scriptures,  is  "Pre,"  or  before  the  "thousand  years"; 
i.  e.,  the  Advent  comes  before  the  kingdom  in  victory, 
and  is,  therefore,  a  /^;r- ■Millennial  Advent,  This  as  an  ex- 
planatory word. 

An  eminent  Roman  Catholic  writer  and  post-millennialist 
has  recently  asked  the  question,  "How  do  the  Old  Testament 
prophets  relate  themselves  to  Chiliasm?"  With  great  frank- 
ness he  says,  "Many  times  their  prophecies  are  so  delivered 
that  it  would  seem,  that  an  earthly  kingdom  restored  to  Israel 
shall  follow  the  End  of  the  Times  of  the  Gentiles.  Especially 
is  that  kingdom,  which,  according  tO'  Daniel,  shall  arise  on 
the  overthrow  of  the  Colossus  and  destruction  of  the  Fourth 
Beast,  conceived  of  as  the  kingdom  of  the  i,ooo  years  in 
John."  Nothing  is  more  true.  His  mode,  however,  of  an- 
swering this  clear  revelation  is  the  following — since  he  keeps 
his  eye  on  the  "Roman  Index,"  a  sure  reminder  that  he  must 
teach  the  post-millennialism  of  the  Roman  Church,  or  find  his 
book  "prohibited."  He  replies,  "But  neither  Daniel,  nor  any 
other  prophet,  knows  of  a  kingdom  only  a  i,ooo  years  long." 
He  says,  "The  prophets  do  not  distinguish  eh\7rJy  between  the 
stages  of  the  kingdom  on  earth  and  the  eternal  states  beyond. 
They  present  the  Alessianic  kingdom  as  at  the  close  of  the 
present  age,  without  any  epochs  or  stages  in  the  same.  When 
the  prophets  picture  the  future  of  the  Kingdom  of  God,  they 
insensibly  pass  from  this  side  to  beyond,  nez'cr  designating  the 
temporal  periods  of  the  kingdom,  or  the  order  of  their  suc- 
cession, definitely.  0>dy  the  idea  of  the  contrast  between  the 
humanity  that  is  under  the  dominion  of  sin  and  the  humanity 
redeemed  from  sin  passes  before  their  minds.  Prof.  Atzber- 
ger,  University  of  Munich,  "Eschatologie,"  p.  95.)  I  have 
italicised  the  words  to  be  denied.  Were  the  author's  answer 
correct,  no  room  would  be  left  for  his  statement,  that  the 
prophets  "do,"  and  "many  times,"  so  deliver  their  prophecies 
that  "it  appears  that  an  earthly  kingdom  restored  to  Israel 

(267) 


268  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

shall  follow  the  times  of  the  Gentiles."  He  takes  advantage  of 
]irophetic  perspective  in  order  to  deny  the  clear  teaching-  of 
the  prophets,  especially  Isaiah,  Daniel,  Ezekiel  and  Zechariah, 
that  there  are  "epochs  and  stages"  in  the  development  of  the 
Kingdom  of  God  on  earth.  He  sees  that  the  kingdom  in 
Daniel  is  the  i,ooo  years  in  John,  and  "at  the  close  of  the 
present  age,"  "and  underneath  the  heavens."  The  answer 
rests  (i)iipon  erroneous  statements  as  to  the  laws  of  pro- 
phetic representation;  (2)  upon  a  spiritualization  of  the 
prophecies;  (3)  upon  a  confounding  of  the  Ages  and  the  Ends. 

On  the  other  hand.  Dr.  Paul  Dornstetter,  less  regardful  of 
the  "Index,"  condemns  the  post-Nicene  judgment  of  the  Ro- 
man Church  concerning  Chiliasm,  and  its  "spiritualizing 
methods."  He  says,  "Not  all  Chiliasm  was  condemned  by  the 
early  Church,  but  only  that  gross  and  sensuous  conception  of 
it  which  prophecy  itself  condemns.  The  highest  moral  ideal 
belongs  to  the  Biblical  Chiliasm.  The  conversion  of  Israel  in 
the  Time  of  the  End  is  foretold  by  the  prophets,  and  by  Christ 
and  His  Apostles.  The  establishment  of  the  Kingdom  has, 
for  its  pre-supposition,  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel,  firstly,  to 
all  nations,  the  Antichrist,  Israel's  conversion  and  the  coming 
of  the  Lord.  Haupt  spiritualizes  the  prophecies,  and  finds 
nowhere  any  concrete  events  of  the  future,  but  only  moral  and 
religious  laws  dressed  up  in  Oriental  drapery.  Renan's  idea 
that  the  Alillennimn  is  only  "a  little  Paradise  in  the  middle  of 
the  earth"  is  his  conceit.  The  1,000  years'  kingdom  is  uni- 
versal. When  Reuss  says  that  this  kingdom  is  "a  doerma  pe- 
culiar to  John,"  that  statement  is  simply  incorrect.  The  num- 
ber, T,ooo  years,  was  only  an  expression  current  in  the  Church 
for  the  temporal  duration  of  the  victory  of  the  kingdom  on 
earth,  achieved  at  the  Second  Coming  of  Christ.  It  is  untrue, 
m.oreover,  when  Mr.  Carriere  asserts  "that,  out  of  the  disap- 
pointment felt  at  the  long-continued  absence  of  Christ,  the 
idea  gradually  grew  up  that  the  'Kingdom  of  Heaven'  is  ex- 
clusively an  inner  spiritual  one,  the  same  as  life  eternal  be- 
yond the  grave."  (Dornstetter,  "Das  end-zeitliche  Gottes- 
reich,"  pp.  141-144.) 

Once  more,  another  recent  Roman  Catholic  author  of  the 
grandest  ability.  Dr.  Eranz  Diisterwald,  of  Bonn,  writes, 
"Antiochus  Epiphanes  was  a  type  of  the  last  personal  Anti- 
christ, who  will  be  the  soul  of  the  Great  Tribulation  of  the 
Time  of  the  End,  the  head  of  the  anti-Christian  empire  of  the 
last  times,  and  chief  of  a  religious  war  and  persecution  of  the 
people  of  God,  and  after  whose  annihilation  the  kingdom 


APPENDIX.  .  269 

comes  in  triumph.  Of  this  kin-dom  the  Prophet  Daniel 
speaks  in  ii:  44,  and  vii:  14,  27.  Ihis  fifth  kingdom  is  clearly 
set  up  in  opposition  to  the  kingdoms  of  this  world.  Already 
set  up,  spiritually,  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  stand  beside 
it  in  conflict,  but  'it  comes  to  victory  only  with  their  overthrow. 
According  to  Daniel,  it  follows  the  Messianic  Judgment,  which 
is  not  the  final  or  general  Judgment  of  the  world.  Among  the 
first  Christian  expositors  o"f  the  Book  of  Daniel  stands  the  holy 
llippolvtus,  whose  book  is  chiliastic.  To  him  followed  many 
in  the  first  four  centuries  of  the  Church,  and.  indeed,  not  a 
few.  The  crass  Chiliasm,  which  was  the  product  of  heretical 
sects,  and  awaited  a  kingdom  of  sensuous  enjoyments,  was 
rejected  by  the  Church.  Otherwise  was  it  with  the  better 
Chiliasm.  '  This  a  multitude  of  the  fathers  of  the  ancient 
Church  advocated  earnestly.  When  Jerome  says,  "Ccssct  ergo 
milk  annoriim  fabitla,"  "Let  ilie  fable  of  the  1,000  years 
cease,"  so  has  he  thereby  condemned  only  the  crass  Chiliasm, 
since' he  remarks  of  the  true,  "which,  although  zve  do  not  follow 
it,  yet  zee  dare  not  condemn,  because  a  multitude  of  our  ecclesiasti- 
cal men,  and  the  martyrs  also,  hare  believed  if."  First  in  modern 
times,  especially  by  the  Protestants,  was  Chiliasm  defended. 
Aubcrlen  has  remarked  that  'Hengstenberg's  defect  was  the 
lack  of  a  Biblical  Chiliasm.'  "  For  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church,  he  adds,  "If  we  remove  from  us  all  that  is  contrary 
to  the  true  doctrine,  then  may  the  expositors  of  the  Book  of 
Daniel  not  merely  admit  it,  but,  in  the  words  of  Dan.  xii:  12. 
find  themselves  among  the  'Blessed  who  wait  and  come  to 
the  1.335  days.'"  (Diisterwald,  "Die  Wekreiche  und  das 
Gottesreich,"  pp.  279-280.) 

Attempts  have  been  made,  since  Mede  published  his  great 
folio,  to  set  aside  his  correction  of  the  text  of  Justin,  which 
the  Roman  church  corrupted  in  the  interest  of  Post-Millen- 
nialism,  leaving  Justin  the  victim  of  a  self-contradiction, 
scarcely  without  a  parallel.  What  Justin  says  is  that  the  ortho- 
dox Christians,  or  "right-minded."  who  were  "pure  in  pious 
faith,"  held  with  him  the  Chiliastic  doctrine.  He  states  also 
that  there  were  "  Many  who  are  not  of  the  pure  and  pious 
faith  of  the  Christians'  who  do  not  confess  this.  They  are 
called  Christians,  indeed,  but  are  godless,  impious  heretics, 
because  they  teach  doctrines  in  every  respect  blasphemous, 
atheistic,  foolish.  .  .  .  They  do  not  confess  this,  but  dare 
to  blaspheme  the  God  of  Abraham.  Isaac  and  Jacob,  and  say 
there  is  no  resurrection,  cf  the  dead,  but  that,  at  death,  souls  are 
received  up  into  heaven.    Do  not  imagine  that  these  are  Chris- 


270  DANIELS  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

tians"  (Dialogue  with  Tryplio.  Caps.  80,  81).  jMcde  reatored 
the  "  NOT  "  before  the  words  "of  the  pure  and  pious  faith," 
and  thus  deHvered  Justin  from  the  glaring  self-contradiction 
that  there  were  "many  of  the  pure  and  pious  faith  of  the  Chris- 
tians" who  were  "called  Christians,  but  are  godless,  impious 
heretics,  because  they  teach  doctrines  in  every  respect  blas- 
phemous, atheistic,  foolish,"  etc.  The  restoration  of  the  ''not  " 
justifies  itself  the  moment  the  text  and  context  of  Justin  are 
read.  The  ''not  "  was  erased,  as  Mede,  and  after  him  scores  of 
others  of  the  first  eminence,  have  shown,  like  Chillingworth, 
\'int,  Tillotson,  Daille,  Volk,  Christiani,  Baur,  Fehrmann, 
Wolff,  Donaldson,  that  the  erasure  was  made  in  order  to  com- 
pel Justin  to  say  that  there  were  "two  classes  of  orthodox"  in 
early  times,  one  holding,  the  other  denying,  the  pre-miilennial 
doctrine,  and  that  the  deniers  were  the  majority! — a  device 
which  would  make  Justin  affirm  that  one  class  of  the  "ortho- 
dox" were  "  heretics!  "  It  was  natural  that  Kelly,  the  "Any- 
Momcnt  Adzrntist,"  should,  in  the  interest  of  his' new  doctrine, 
repel  the  early  pre-millcnnialism  cl  Justin,  and  Justin's  testi- 
mony to  the  faith  of  the  early  churcli  which  excluded  forever 
the  modern  invention.  Others  have  in  various  ways,  for  var- 
ious ends,  assailed  Alcde's  self-commending  restoration  of  the 
true  text,  but  in  vain. 

A  recent  able  writer,  Prof.  MacDill,  of  Xenia,  Ohio,  in  his 
"  Pre-Millennialism  Discussed,"  excludes  all  reference  to 
Daniel  Chapter  VH.,  where  the  Coming  of  Christ  and  the 
sequence  of  the  Kingdom  "underneath  all  heavens"  are  so 
clearly  stated — the  culminating  chapter  of  the  whole  book — 
and  accepted  by  Justin  and  all  pre-millennialists  as  the  formal 
seat  of  John's  doctrine  of  the  i.ooo  years.  It  is  remarkable 
that,  beginning  the  discussion  with  the  statement  that  "the 
question  concerning  the  priority  of  these  two  events" — Advent 
i:nd  Kingdom  in  victory — "  is  not  of  itself  of  much  import- 
ance," yet  fully  one-half  of  the  discussion  is  devoted  to  show 
that  it  is  of  prime  importance,  and  that  /'o.?f-!\Iillcnnialism  is 
the  true  doctrine.  It  is  a  vivid  illustration  that  we  cannot 
minimize  the  "  importance"  of  pre  or  post.  There  lies  the 
main  question.  Apart  wholly  from  our  personal  interest  in 
the  coming  of  Christ,  and  viewed  as  a  civil  and  political  ques- 
tion in  its  relation  to  the  nations  and  the  term  of  Gentile  sov- 
ereignty over  Israel,  just  as  Daniel  viewed  it,  the  vital  question 
is,  "  How  long  shall  the  Colossus  stand  on  nationally  dead 
Israel  in  Israel's  valley  of  Dry  Bones?"  It  is  the  Eastern 
Question.    By  it  all  other  question  arc  decided  in  world-his- 


APPENDIX.  271 

torical  development.  It  is  whether  the  vision  of  the  Cloud- 
Comer  in  Daniel  vii.  means  the  literal  Second  Advent  of  Christ 
to  bring  His  Kingdom  to  victory,  or  whether  a  Golden  Age 
of  universal  righteousness  and  peace,  when  war  shall  be  no 
more,  can  run  parallel  with  the  "  Warfare  Great  "  which  that 
Advent  terminates.  To  omit  Dan.  vii.  in  a  discussion  of  Pre- 
Millcnnialism  seems  to  intimate  that  the  Coming  of  the  Son 
of  Alan  in  clouds  ''has  nothing  to  do  zvitli  the  Second  Adz'ent!  " 
Criticising  deservedly  the  inconsistencies  of  certain  pre-mil- 
lennarians — yet  not  himself  free  from  the  same  defect — and 
justly  repelling  the  modern  "Any-Moment  Adventism,"  the 
author  has  given  us  one  more  evidence  of  the  indestructibility 
of  the  pre-millennial  doctrine. 

Nothing  can  break  the  consentient  judgment  of  great  schol- 
ars, historians  and  exegetes,  as  to  the  witness  of  the  early 
church  to  the  pre-millennial  coming  of  Christ.  "  It  was,"  says 
Gieseler,  "  the  general  belief  of  the  apostolic  age."  "  It  was," 
says  Mede,  "  the  general  belief  of  all  Christians  in  the  age  next 
following  the  apostles,  and  none  but  heretics  denied  it."  "It 
was,"  says  Hase,  "  the  old  and  popular  faith."  "  The  stream 
of  all  antiquity  ran  that  way,"  says  Homes.  Muencher 
says,  "  It  was  almost  universally  held  by  all  teachers."  Rome 
wes  never  able  to  answer  the  sword-stroke  of  the  great  Chil- 
lingworth,  that  "  the  doctrine  was  taught  and  believed  by  the 
most  eminent  fathers  of  the  Church  in  the  age  next  after  the 
Apostles,  and  by  none  of  that  age  opposed  or  condemned." 
It  is  the  scholarly  Burton  who'  affirms,  in  his  Bampton  Lec- 
tures, that  "the  early  Church's  faith  in  the  pre-millennial  Ad- 
vent of  the  Lord  is  beyond  successful  denial."  "  The  whole 
Church."  says  Alford,  "  for  three  hundred  years  held  it,  and 
it  is  the  most  cogent  instance  of  unanimity  which  primitive 
nntiquitv  presents.  And  such  are  the  statements  of  Binde- 
mann,  Donaldson,  Luthardt,  Dorner,  Volk,  Christiani,  and  a 
hundred  more  that  could  be  quoted.  It  is  error  to  say  that 
Justin  taught  that  in  his  day  any  of  the  orthodox  held  the 
idea  of  a  Millennium  before  Christ  comes.  It  was  simply  an 
impossibility.  Not  till  Dan.  vii.,  and  Matt,  xxiv.,  and  Rev. 
xix:  11-21,  were  "spiritualized"  did  the  Chiu'ch  ever  teach 
such  a  folly.  It  is  incorrect  to  say  that  the  majority  of  French 
and  German  scholars  decide  against  Mede's  correction  of 
Tustin's  corrupted  text.  The  fact  is  the  other  wav,  and  im- 
mensely. 

The  latest  method  of  vindicating  the  evaporation  of  the 
prophecies  concerning  the  Jews  is  the  effort  of  Professor  D. 


272  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

E.  Hanpt,  of  Halle,  who  announces,  in  his  "  Eschatology  of  the 
Gospels,"  as  one  of  the  recent  "  triumphs  of  scientific  criti- 
cism," the  "  demonstration  "  that  Jesus  said  one  thing  but 
meant  another.  In  other  words,  the  Lord  made  use  of  "Jewish 
iiunlcs  of  expression  and  forms  of  representation,"  but  "  put 
into  them  an  entirely  new  and  different  meaning."  The  king- 
dom He  preached  was  exclusively  a  spiritual  one,  inner,  super- 
earthly,  viz.,  our  personal  fellowship  with  God  through  Christ. 
Jesus  was  "  not  dependent  on  contemporary  Judaism  for  His 
ideas,  nor  on  ancient  prophecy,  but  spake  from  his  own  self- 
consciousness  as  Messiah  the  Son  of  God."  He  thus  poured 
the  "  Ncw^  Wine  "  of  a  spiritual  kingdom  into  the  "  Old  Bot- 
tles" of  the  prophets,  rejecting  the  literal  interpretation.  The 
prophecies  do  not  really  predict  concrete  historical  events, 
but  only  set  forth  "  moral  laws  and  principles  clothed  in 
Jewish  drapery."  The  conclusion  is  that  Chiliasm  is  false,  since 
the  prcphcts,  our  Lord's  own  teaching,  and  the  apocalypse, 
"must  be  interpreted  spiritually!"  Such  the  logic,  the  exe- 
gesis and  the  scientific  method!  The  masterly  manner  in 
which  Professor  Schnedermann,  of  Leipzig,  has  demolished 
Haupt's  idealism, in  his  "Announcement  and  Doctrine  of  the 
Kingdom  of  God,  by  Jesus,"  is  at  least  known  to  all  German 
scholars.  He  has  shown  conclusively  that  the  denial  of  the 
Biblical  Realism  is  the  denial  of  a  literal  coming  of  Christ  in 
the  flesh,  a  literal  resurrection  of  Christ,  a  literal  resurrection 
of  believers,  a  literal  Second  Coming  of  Christ,  a  literal  res- 
toration and  conversion  of  the  Jews,  and  a  literal  Kingdom  of 
Glory  on  the  earth;  and  that  the  critical  separation  of  the 
"iJwiigJit  "  from  the  "form  "  in  which  both  the  prophets  and 
Jesus  expressed  themselves,  amounts  simply  to  a  "denial  of  the 
Scriptures."  No  book  of  our  times  surpasses  this  for  its  thor- 
ough review  of  all  the  recent  German  WTiters  on  the  kingdom 
of  God.  It  defends  triumphantly  the  Chiliasm  of  Moses  and 
the  Prophets,  Jesus  Christ  and  liis  Apostles.  Beside  it  st?nd 
Yssel's  work,  "The  Doctrine  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  in  the 
New  Testament,"  crowned  by  the  Hague  Society,  also  the 
special  work  of  Schmollcr,  on  "  The  Doctrine  of  the  Kingdom 
of  God,"  both  most  thorough  and  exhaustive  in  exegesis  and 
criticism,  and  both,  like  Schnedermann,  maintaining  the  literal 
interpretation.  The  defense  of  Chiliasm  is  complete,  and  vig- 
orous as  it  was  by  the  Swiss,  Dutch,  French  and  Russian 
Professors,  Godct,  Da  Costa,  De  Saulcy,  \''olck  and  Christian!, 
and  is  as  victoriously  defended  by  Wolff  of  Copenhagen, 
Krueger  of  Paris,  by  Crcmer,  Wahnitz,  and  scores  of  scholars 


APPENDIX.  273 

of  the  first  rank.  The  attitude  of  the  EvangeHcal  Churches  in 
the  United  States,  toward  this  doctrine,  to-day,  in  view  of  the 
exegetical  labor  upon  it  in  Continental  Europe  during  the 
last  thirty  years,  is  no  credit  either  to  the  Churches,  or  the 
Seminaries  or  the  Ministry. 

The  words  of  Professor  Reuss  are  supported  by  every  deeper 
study  of  the  pre-millennial  question;  viz.,  "The  post-Xicene 
hathcrs  of  the  Church  escaped  the  doctrine  of  the  1,000  years 
in  John,  only  by  substituting-  in  the  text  a  pretended  spiritual 
interpretation  altogether  arbitrary,  and  condemned  in  advance 
by  the  author  himself,  who  shows  at  everv  step  that  he  will 
have  his  symbols  understood  literallv  and 'not  as  metaphors. 
It  was  by  a  system  of  allegories  the  Greek  Fathers  avoided 
the  chihastic  consequences,  until  the  Revelation  was  extended 
from  the  Canon.  But  for  the  Alexandrian  school,  which  re- 
stored the  book  to  its  canonical  authority,  although  spiritual- 
izing Its  contents,  it  had  altogether  been  rejected.  This  theorv 
of  interpretation  continues  in  the  Church  until  the  time  of  the 
Great  Reformation,  at  leas;  among  the  so-called  orthodox 
and  continues  still  even  to  our  own  day."  (L'Apocalypse,  pp.' 
40-44. 


IX. 
HOW    NEAR    TO    THE    END? 

The  only  reliable  data  we  have  for  the  approximate  de- 
termination of  the  question  are  (i)  the  Biblical  and  true  dis- 
tinction between  the  "  End  of  the  Age,"  and  the  common 
term  the  "  End  of  the  World;"  (2)  The  doctrine  of  the  Seventy 
Weeks  in  Daniel,  with  their  included  Intervals,  the  last  our 
present  age;  (3)  The  Olivet  Discourse,  in  which  this  Inten^al 
is  defined  as  the  Roman  "  Times  of  the  Gentiles,"  and  as  fol- 
lowed by  the  Seventieth  Week,"  at  whose  middle  point  the 
"abomination  of  desolation"  is  introduced;  (4)  The  Thessa- 
lonian  letters  of  Paul,  whose  eschatology  rests  on  both  Daniel 
and  the  Olivet  Discourse;  and  (5)  The  Apocalypse  by  John, 
which  again  covers  the  same  Interval,  i.  e.,  the  period  of  Dan- 
iel's Fourth  Empire,  and  at  whose  close  the  Seventieth  Week 
is  introduced  the  last  time  in  Biblical  prophecy.  Here  we  have 
chronological  data  of  definite  measure,  the  Interval  alone  being 
undetermined.  This  chronological  indeterminateness  is,  how- 
ever, compensated  for,  in  large  degree,  (6)  by  the  predicted 
signs  and  events  which  "much  needs"  precede  the  Advent, 
and  by  the  assignment  of  the  Christian  Church  to  her  place 
alongside  of  Israel  in  unbelief,  in  the  same  perspective.  Thus 
the  Biblical  data  are  exhausted.  Daniel  gives  no  "signs"  pre- 
ceding the  Advent,  but  only  the  Seventieth  Week  and  the 
Antichrist's  career.  Our  Lord  introduces  the  signs  foretold 
by  other  prophets  and  amplifies  by  adding  certain  historical 
events,  cosmical  phenomena,  and  a  moral  condition  of  society 
corresponding  to  that  in  the  days  of  Noah  and  of  Lot.  John 
still  further  amplifies,  and  arranges  the  whole  in  dififerent  series 
cr  groups  of  sevens. 

iXe  stand,  to-day,  with  sixty-nine  of  the  seventy  weeks,  and 
almost  1898  years  oi  the  Interval  between  the  sixty-ninth  and 
seventieth  week,  i.  e.,  the  Interval  of  the  Roman  Times  of  the 
Gentiles,  behind  us.  How  long  this  undetermined  time  may 
be,  how  much  remains  of  it  before  the  revelation  of  the  Anti- 
christ and  opening  of  the  seventieth  week,  none  can  tell. 
Manifestly,  we  are  thrown  upon  the  Events  and  Signs  foretold 
in  prophecy,  as  certain  to  occur  anterior  to  the  Advent.  Only 
thus  can  we  measure  our  probable  nearness  to  the  end.  By 
no  astronomical  calculation  can  we  fix  the  time-point  of  this 


APPENDIX.  275 

event.  Every  effort  so  to  do  has  been  convicted  of  scientific 
error.  Bv  no~  Year-Day  theory  of  reckoning  can  it  be  de- 
cided, since  Daniel  knows  of  none  such.  The  series  of  pre- 
currcnt  events  and  signs  were  designed  of  Christ  to  be  among 
the  objects  of  the  Church's  zvatcJiiiig,  the  special  couriers  in 
advance  of  his  appearing.  That  Coming  He  has  fixed  in  the 
most  positive  manner,  as  have  the  Prophets  and  His  Apostles, 
at  the  "  End  "  of  the  Church's  Missionary  Age,  and  given  with 
great  fidelity  its  unmistakable  omens,  ''Behold,  I  have  told  you 
before."  These  are  political,  civil,  national  international, 
moral,  social,  religious,  cosmical,  i.  e.,  terrestrial  and  celestial. 
Some  enter  singly,  some  contemperaneously,  some  successive- 
ly, all  increasingly.  Some  are  nearer  to  us,  i.  e.,  remotest  from 
the  Advent;  some  are  farther  from  us,  i.  e.,  nearest  to  the  x^d- 
vent;  and  as  the  end  approaches  are  cumulative,  more  frequent, 
special,  intense  and  universal.  Some  are  mediate,  some  are 
common  to  all  ages,  but  all  together  are  peculiar  to  the  "  End." 
The  earlier  precursors  do  not  retire  from  the  field,  but  still 
continue.  The  heralds  of  the  "  Day  of  the  Lord  "  persist  and 
enter  into  the  dav  itself.  The  last  sign  is  "  the  Sign  of  the  Son 
of  Man  in  Heaven,"  that  is,  the  Appearing  of  the  Son  of  Man, 
who  is  Himself  His  own  Sign,  as  Bengel  beautifully  says, 
"Ipse  Sigiutni  Siti." 

Among  the  Events  which  portend  the  approaching  End  of 
the  Age,  are 

I.  those  given  in  the  Old  Testament,  viz.: 

1.  The  return  of  the  Jews  to  their  own  land  in  numbers  suf- 
ficient to  satisfv  the  prophecy.     Isa.  xi:  11-16. 

2.  The  covenant  between  the  Antichrist  and  the  Jewish 
masses,  whereby  they  acquire  a  inodiis  vivendi  with  the  build- 
ing of  their  temple,  and  revival  of  their  ancient  worship,  the 
Lord  reproving  their  unbelieving  labor.     Isa.  Ixvi:  1-4;  Dan. 

ix:  27. 

3.  The  conversion  01  the  Remnant  and  their  persecution  by 
their  apostate  brethren.    Isa.  Ivi.  5-9. 

4.  The  breach  of  the  covenant  between  the  Antichrist  and 
the  Jews,  followed  by  the  Great  Tribulation,  Dan.  ix.  27,  be- 
o-inning  with  the  attack  of  certain  Powers  upon  the  Antichrist, 
and  the  Antichrist's  Invasion  of  Palestine.  Dan.  xi:  40-45; 
xii:  I. 

5.  The  gathering  of  the  nations  against  Jerusalem,  for  the 
final  conflict.     Zeph.  iii:  8:  Zech.  xiv:  2:  Joel  iii:  9-1 1. 

6.  The  sanguinary  action  in  the  -.'alley  of  Jehoshaphat  and 
Valley  of  Decision.'  Joel  iii:  12-14;  Isa.  Ixvi:  15. 


2^6  DANIELS  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

7.  The  Cosmic  Signs — earthquake,  the  sundering  of  the 
Mount  of  Ohves,  the  obscuration  of  the  Heavenly  Lights,  and 
commotions  in  heaven  and  earth.  Zech.  xiv:  1-5;  Joel  iii:  15, 
16;  Hag.  ii:  6,  7. 

II.  Those  given  in  the  New  Testament.  In  the  Olivet  Dis- 
course the  Lord  gives  the  Signs  and  Events  for  both  the  de- 
struction of  Jerusalem  by  Titus,  and  His  Parousia,  signs  com- 
mon to  both,  and  signs  special  to  the  latter.  Among  the  nearer 
signs  are: 

1.  The  appearing  of  False  Christs,  coming  in_His  name. 
Matt,  xxiv:  5. 

2.  Wars,  civil  and  international,  disrupting  the  bonds  of 
amity  and  peace  among  nations,    xxiv:  6,  7. 

3.  Cosmic  Signs — earthquakes  contemporaneous  with  spo- 
radic famines  and  pestilence,  in  different  places,  xxiv:  7,  these 
the  signs  and  events  nearest  to  us,  as  they  were  to  the  Jews 
before"  Jerusalem's  destruction — "the  beginning  of  sorrows." 

Among  the  Middle  Signs: 

4.  As  to  the  External  History  of  the  Church,  a  universal 
hatred  and  bloody  persecution  of  the  saints  by  the  nations. 
The  extension  of  missions  has  for  its  pre-supposition  not  only 
the  reception  of  the  Gospel  on  the  one  hand,  but  its  rejection 
on  the  other;  the  conflict  of  Christianity  with  the  world-powers 
and  the  false  systems  of  religion  by  which  they  are  supported, 
xxiv:  9. 

5.  As  to  the  Internal  History  of  the  Church.  A  Great 
Apostasvfrom  the  truth  by  unbelieving  Christians,  a  departure' 
from  the  true  faith  and  life'of  the  Gospel,  and  a  practical  return 
to  a  worldly  and  heathen  walk  and  conversation,  by  means  of 
false  teachers  themselves  apostate  from  the  truth — unbelief, 
lawlessness,  pleasure,  crime  and  declension  of  Christian  love 
and  vital  godliness  abounding  in  professing  Christendom. 
xxiv:  10-12. 

6.  The  Progress  of  Missions  at  the  same  time;  a  universal 
witness  to  the  Gospel  among  all  nations,  during  a  condition  of 
society  such  as  was  in  the  days  of  Noah  and  of  Lot.  xxiv.  14, 
37;  Luke  xvii:  26-30.  When  these  two  contradictory  yet  con- 
current facts  meet  in  history,  great  missionary  work  and  great 
apostasy,  then  the  "End"  shall   come. 

Among  the  signs  remotest  from  us  and  nearest  to  the  Ad- 
vent, are: 

7.  The  Antichrist,  the  Abomination  of  Desolation  spoken  of 
by  "  Daniel  the  prophet,"  the  Great  Tribulation,  and  false 
alarms  as  to  the  coming  of  Christ.    The  political  dechristiani- 


APPENDIX.  277 

zation  of  the  Christian  powers,  their  subserviency  to  mammon 
and  Antichristianity,  will  have  advanced  with  the  progress  of 
Christendom  in  wealth,  and  its  departure  from  the  Gospel  and 
the  law  of  righteousness.  What  exists,  save  "  Christ's  elect," 
is  a  moral  "carcass"  fit  only  for  the  eagle's  beak,  xxiv:  15, 
21-26,  28;  Jas.  i:  5-7.  Christendom  wall  be  as  morally  corrupt 
as  it  will  be  architecturally  splendid,  and,  save  a  faithful  few, 
as  dead  to  Christ  and  His  Spirit,  as  it  is  alive  to  ^Mammon 
and  the  work  of  Satan,  under  the  pretense  of  "Peace"  and 
"Reform."  "Money  and  Peace"  will  be  its  curse,  all  tlie  time 
preparing  for  war, — Hypocrisy  its  policy.  Unbelief  its  creed. 

8.  The  culmination  of  the  Apostacy.  under  the  teachings  of 
lalse  Christs  and  false  prophets,  the  frog-croaking  ministers 
of  the  Antichrist  and  the  False  Prophet,  deceiving  the  world 
by  means  of  great  signs  and  wonders,  assailing  the  truth  and 
proclaiming  "the  lie"  that  Christ  and  Christianity  are  a  fraud. 
xxiv:  24;  Rev.  xiii:  5-18;  xvi:  14. 

9.  The  Conversion  of  the  Jews  and  the  Gathering  of  the 
Nations  against  Jerusalem,    xxiii:  39;   xxv:  32. 

10.  The  Cosmic  Signs  next  to  the  Advent,  viz..  Obscuration 
of  the  Heavenly  Lights,  [Meteoric  Showers,  the  Concussion  of 
the'  Heavens,  Earthquakes,  Distress,  Perplexity,  Terror  and 
Apprehension,  the  Sea  roaring,  xxiv:  29;  Luke  xxi:  25-26. 
Then  the  Son  of  Man  Plimself,  His  own  Sign,  in  the  clouds  of 
heaven,    xxiv:  30. 

Such  are  the  signs  and  events  that  "  must  needs  come  to 
pass"  before  the  Second  Coming  o>f  Christ.  How  many  of 
these  are  in  the  field  now-  is  for  the  judgment  of  enlightened 
men  to  determine.  As  to  the  Nearer  Signs,  there  can  be  no 
question.  As  to  the  Middle  Signs,  the  only  question  is  how- 
long  they  will  continue  until  the  latest  ones  enter.  That  they 
are  present  in  their  measure  is  undeniable.  That  both  the 
signs  nearest  to  us  and  the  middle  signs  contemporate  and 
cumulate,  in  our  day.  cannot  be  disputed.  The  conversion  of 
the  world  is  nowhere  a  sign  of  the  End  in  any  book  of  Scrip- 
ture, and  any  judgment  based  upon  a  presupposition  so  gratu- 
itous is  worthless.  Nowhere  has  the  Saviour  said.  "  When  the 
world  is  universally  converted,  then  the  End  shall  come."  but 
this,  "  When  the  Gospel  has  been  testified  to  all  nations,  then 
the  End  shall  come."  Nowhere  is  the  Divine  commission  to 
witness  to  the  Gospel  in  all  lands,  instructing  all  nations  in  the 
truth,  and  so  discipling  them,  any  pledge  that  the  measure 
of  true  conversions  will  equal  the  universality  of  the  command. 
It  never  has  done  so  in  any  nation,  city,  town  or  village  of  the 


278  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

world,  and  never  will  in  this  present  age.  That  vision  is  re- 
served for  the  future  after  the  Antiehrist  is  destroyed  and  Satan 
is  bound.  Only  then  "all  nations  shall  eome  and  worship  be- 
fore the  Lord;  because  His  judgments  shall  have  been  mani- 
fested," and  that  is  when  the  Antichrist  and  his  kingdom  are 
destroyed,  and  the  Colossus  of  Gentile  politics  and  power  has 
become  as  the  "chafT  of  the  summer  threshing-Hoor."  It  is 
after  Israel  has  been  converted  to  the  Lord,  and  their  kingdom 
is  restored.     Dan.  ix:  24;  vii:  27;  ii:  44. 

The  idea  that  the  Locd  may  come  any  moment,  and  that, 
by  a  "special  revelation  to  Paul  in  i  Thess.  iv:  14-17,"  He  has 
subverted  the  whole  body  of  Old  and  New  Testament  proph- 
ecy as  to  the  time-point  of  His  coming,  its  nature,  and  the 
order  of  events,  and  that  "Signs"  are  only  for  the  Jews — in  a 
word,  that  He  niiglif  have  come  before  Peter  had  died,  and 
Paul  had  borne  witness  at  Rome,  and  Jerusalem  had  been  des- 
troyed, or  any  of  the  church  been  martyred,  and  that  His  inter- 
cession within  the  veil,  the  world's  evangelization,  and  the 
fulness  of  the  Gentiles,  might  have  only  recjuired  "a  moment," 
a  doctrine  which  makes  Him  a  self-contradictory  Teacher,  in 
view  of  His  assertion  that  He  intended  to  "delay,"  "tarry,"  be 
gone  "a  long  time,"  and  only  "after  a  long  time"  return  to 
reckon  with  His  servants — a  doctrine,  moreover,  which  de- 
prives the  l)eliever  of  His  place  in  that  l)right  resurrection 
wherein  the  righteous  shall  shine  as  the  sun  in  the  Kingdom  of 
their  Father,  may  be  allowed,  here,  to  pass  without  comment. 

On  the  other  extreme  are  they  who  remove  far  into  the  fu- 
ture the  hope  of  the  believer  by  indulging  the  dream  that  the 
"Arbitration"  of  international  disputes  will  introduce  the  uni- 
versal reign  of  righteousness  and  peace  before  the  Lord  comes. 
This  judgment  is  superfiicial.  ft  is  the  honest  but  misguided 
view  of  many  Christians.  It  is  the  scheme  that  Mammon 
will  approve — the  Stockholder's  and  the  Bondholder's  piety 
for  the  sake  of  money.  The  scheme  was  tried  in  ancient 
times.  Argos,  Lacedaemon  and  the  Greek  States  had  an  "Ar- 
bitration Treaty"  that  lasted  fifty  years,  then  vanished  away. 
The  Italian  republics  of  the  Middle  Age  unsuccessfully  at- 
tempted the  same.  All  Europe,  under  the  jegis  of  the  Roman 
Church,  had  the  "Truce  of  God"  in  the  loth  century,  which 
is  broke  in  the  iith.  \Mien  the  "Crystal  Palace"  hove  into 
view,  at  Sydenham,  publicists  announced  that  the  "Era  of 
Universal  Peace"  had  come.  International  acquaintance  and 
the  spirit  of  Christianity  were  regarded  as  certain  to  bring 
speedily  the  long-desired  result.     ]\Iore  recent  efforts  among 


APPENDIX.  279 

the  most  Christian  nations  have  failed,  for  insuperable  reasons. 
The  ambitions  of  men,  the  rivalries  of  human  governments,  the 
power  of  sin  and  the  unchained  privilege  of  Satan  defy  a  uni- 
versal concert  of  the  nations  in  terms  of  universal  righteous- 
ness and  peace.  The  diplomatic  catch-word,  "Peace  with 
honor,"  beguiles  only  the  sentimental  and  the  inexperienced. 
A  multitude  of  wars  have  crimsoned  sea  and  land  since  Tenny- 
son sang  the  time  when: — 

"The  \var-(lnim  throbs  no  longer,  and  the  battle-flags  are  furled 
In  the  ParUanient  of  man,  the  federation  of  the  world." 

Lord  Russell.  Chief  Justice  of  England,  calls  it  a  "poetic 
dream"  for  this  age,  remarking  that  "Europe  is  pretty  well 
ck'ili::cd  now,  but  all  talk  of  a  general  disarmament  is  invari- 
ably received  with  a  smile" — the  smile  of  Christian  Europe! 
The  fact  is  that  the  nations  cannot  trust  each  other,  and  are 
confronted  with  coiiditions  where  "Peace  with  honor"  cannot 
be  maintained.  Nor  can  the  "Day  of  the  Lord,"  that  will 
"burn  as  an  oven,"  be  arbitrated  away  from  the  word  and  the 
purpose  of  God,  with  whom  the  judgment  of  the  nations  is 
a  divine  necessity.  Peace  with  Shame,  Disgrace,  Dishonor, 
coffers  filled  with  money,— Peace  with  oppression  and  injus- 
tice,— while  guiltv  Christendom,  unmoved,  beholds  massacre 
and  murder  bv  the  Turk  and  the  Spaniard,  year  after  year, 
and  the  I'nited  States  Government,  ruled  by  the  INIoney- 
Kings,  under  the  plea  of  "Peace,"  withholds  armed  interven- 
tion' in  behalf  of  Justice,  Humanity  and  Liberty,  the  blood 
of  600,000  starved  and  butchered  Cuban  men,  women  and 
children,  crving  to  heaven  for  vengeance. 

And  far  away  from  the  heart  of  the  Church,  as  a  practical 
power,  does  the  idea  of  the  "universal  conversion  of  the  world" 
remove  the  hope  of  the  coming  of  the  Lord.  Criminal  Chris- 
tendom, excusing  its  crimes  by  missionary  contributions, 
preaches  the  conversion  of  the  world  before  the 
Lord  comes.  Allusion  to  this  has  been  made  al- 
readv.  A  close  inspection  of  the  facts — not  to 
speak  of  the  plain  teaching  of  Scripture — will  satisfy  us 
that  this  also  is  a  "poetic  dream."  If  we  consult  die  most  re- 
liable statistics  as  to  the  progress  of  Christian  missions — fur- 
nished by  Mullhall,  Stundhall.  Lavoisier,  Fournier  dc  Flaix, 
Pinkerton,  Fabri.  \^ihl,  the  Royal  Geographical  Society,  the 
Encvclopedia  P.ritannica.  Behm's  Bureau  of  Statistics,  in  Ber- 
lin, and  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  INL  Almanac  for  1897— we  shall  get 


28o  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

as  correct  a  view  as  is  possible  in  this  branch  of  investigation. 
In  1800  the  population  of  the  globe  was  700,000,000,  theChris- 
tion  populatioon,  including  all  the  unconverted  in  Christen- 
dom, being  196,204,000,  or  28  per  cent,  of  the  whole.  In  1897, 
a  century  later,  the  population  of  the  globe  is  1,500,000.000, 
the  Christian  population,  (|ualified  as  above,  being  491,000,000, 
or  ^^  per  cent,  of  the  whole,  the  rate  of  increase  of  Christen- 
dom being  relatively  5  per  cent,  in  excess  of  the  rate  of  in- 
crease for  the  total  population  of  the  globe.  That  is,  nominal 
Christendom,  including  all  infidels,  criminals,  unbelievers  and 
rejecters  of  the  Gospel,  all  corrupt  forms  of  religion,  and  all 
its  unbelief,  is  2|-  times  greater  to-day  than  in  1800,  while  yet 
the  increase  of  Christendom  relatively  to  that  of  the  whole 
world's  population  is  only  5  per  cent.  If,  liberally,  we  estimate 
nominal  Christianity,  including  all  real  converts,  at  500,000,- 
000,  instead  of  490.000.000,  th'ere  remain  still  1,000.000,000 — a 
thousand  millions — in  heathendom  not  yet  converted,  even  as 
there  are  millions  in  Christendom  in  the  same  condition. 

And  what  have  Continental  Europe,  Great  Britain  and  Ire- 
land, Canada,  Australia,  the  United  States,  to  show  to-dav  as 
the  converting  result  of  their  work  in  the  foreign  field?  What 
the  status  now,  after  nearly  19  centuries,  and  the  enormous 
wealth  of  modern  times?    In  1897  the  statistics  stand: 

-Missionaries   on   the   field 11,659 

Native   helpers,    also 64,229 

Professing   Christians 1.121.609 

Under    instruction 913.4/8 

Total  number 2,111,065 

Such  the  showing,  the  Turk  still  holding  the  fairest  portions 
of  the  world  which  once  were  Christian.  If  we  compare  the 
2,111,065  of  Christians  with  the  1.000,000,000,  what  is  the 
ratio  of  this  Christian  population,  in  heathen  lands,  to  tl-e 
unconverted  1,000,000,000  yet  remaining  there?  This: 
10,000.000  is  I  per  cent,  of  1.000,000.000.  and  2.1 11.065  is  brt 
slightly  more  than  one-fifth  of  this  i  per  cent;  that  is,  ///<? 
7'a//o  of  the  Christian  popiilalion  to  the  non-Chyistian  in 
heathendom  is  a  trifle  over  one- fifth  of  i  percent,  after  nearly  nine- 
teen centuries.  Concede  to  the  Church,  liberally,  all  she  claims, 
viz.,  the  P)ible  translated,  in  whole  or  part,  into  400  languages 
and  dialects  spoken  by  nine-tenths  of  the  human  race,  religious 
books  and  tracts  scattered  by  the  million  and  increasingly, 
280  missionary  organizations,  25,000  auxiliary  societies,  12,000 


APPENDIX.  281 

missionaries,  70,000  native  helpers  of  every  description,  the 
occupation  of  vast  regions  in  Asia  and  Africa,  an  cver-widen- 
in"-  evant^ehzation,  and  the  number  of  actual  additions  in  the 
fo?cion  field,  for  1897,  as  780,858,  sfil/  the  progress  of  Chris- 
tendom, relatively  to  that  of  the  population  of  the  globe  dur- 
ing 100  years  save  three  is  only  ^ per  cent.,  and  the  ratio 
of  Christia7is  in  heathendom  to  the  vnconverted  there  is  only 
a  little  over  oneffth  of  i  per  r.7//.— the  heathen  population 
outrunning  that  of  the  civilized  nations,  Islam  outrunning 
Christianity  in  manv  parts  of  Asia  and  Africa,  new  Hindu isi.i 
resisting  it,  all  the 'heathen  religions  still  in  force._  If,  after 
nearly  19  centuries,  the  most  advanced  stage  of  Christian  civi- 
lization can  show  onlv  one-fifth  of  i  per  cent,  as  the  ratio 
between  converted  and  unconverted  heathendom,  how  long 
will  it  take  to  convert  the  heathen  world  so  rapidly  increasing, 
not  to  speak  of  the  unconverted  millions  in  Christendom? 
How  long  will  it  take,  in  face  of  the  clear  statements  of  the 
Lord  that  when  He  comes,  it  will  be  as  it  was  in  the  days  ot 
Noah  and  Lot,  and  of  Paul  that  Apostasy  and  Antichristi- 
anity  will  prevail,  and  of  all  the  Prophets,  Christ  and  His 
Apostles,  that  Christendom  must  be  judged  for  its  crimes? 

But.  when  we  remember  that  evangelization  and  conver- 
sion are  not  svnonvmous  terms,  and  that  of  the  1,000,000,000 
yet  unconverted  in  heathendom  vast  multitudes  have  already 
been  evangelized,  though  still  rejecting  the  Gospel,  even  as  in 
Christian  lands,  and  that  every  day  the  missionary  field  is 
expanding  through  the  steady  toil  of  Christian  men  and 
women,  and  thatVhen  the  Gospel  has  witnessed  to  "all  na- 
tions '  in  the  "whole  creation,"  then  the  Lord  will  come,  and 
in  a  time  of  deep  apostasv  and  world-wide  war,  the  case  stands 
very  different,  and  the  hope  of  the  believer  brightens  with 
every  hour.  The  Lord  does  not  expect  the  world  to  be  con- 
verted when  He  comes.  In  the  last  prophecy  of  the  New 
Testament,  given  bv  Plimself  to  John,  the  last  call  of  the  Gos- 
pel, svmbolized  by  the  voice  of  the  Zenith-Angel  flying  on  the 
path  'of  the  sun,'  is  to  an  unchristian  world  "ripe"  for  the 
Judgment.  Rev.  xiv:  6.  But  He  does  expect  the  world  to 
be  e'x'angelized.  The  commission  is  to  "disciple  all  nations," 
i.  e.,  inrtruct  them,  in  the  Gospel — to  preach  the  Gospel  to 
"the  whole  creation."  The  Greek  article  placed  in  the  original 
text,  between  "whole"  and  "creation."  indicates  the  univer- 
sality of  the  sphere  of  missionarv  labor,  the  geographical  com- 
pass of  the  evanq-elization.  Palestine  was  evangelized:  yet  all, 
save  the  "remnant  of  Israel,"  rejected  the  message  of  salva- 


282  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

tion.  The  Roman  Empire  was  evangelized — the  whole  then 
civihzed  world,  Col.  i:  27^ — all  aduits  and  infants  baptized,  and 
Christianity  made  a  state  religion,  and  yet  it  was  broken  up 
under  the  judgment  of  God.  Ihe  mediaeval  and  modern  king- 
doms sprung  from  it,  with  others  beside,  all  evangelized,  will 
nieet  the  same  destruction.  Heathendom  evangelized  will 
share  the  like  fate. 

The  Church's  missionary  work  goes  on  with  a  rapidity  un- 
paralleled before.  Few  sections  in  Africa  have  been  unvis'ted. 
The  Bible,  whole  or  part,  is  found  in  every  nation.  Every 
province  of  China  has  been  entered.  Asia  has  missions  in  al- 
most every  region.  India  has  heard  the  Gospel.  The  Pacific 
Islands  are  evangelized.  Europe  has  grown  gray  under  its 
sound.  Loth  Americas  are  called  Christian.  Everywhere 
Christian  and  non-Christian  nations  are  in  contact,  the  same 
creeds,  crimes,  divisions  and  denominations  found  among  the 
one  seen  also  in  the  other.  The  message  is  rejected  as  well 
as  accepted  wherever  it  goes.  A  Mecca-programme  unites 
the  great  chiefs  of  Islam  in  Turkey,  Persia,  and  Afghanistan, 
in  a  common  bond  to  resist  the  encroachments  of  "Christian 
Europe."  The  Madras  and  Calcutta  journals  scoff  at  Euro- 
pean Christianity,  and  pronounce  it  "a  plagiarism  of  the  Per- 
sian and  Egyptian  religions,"  and  the  Alahdis  and  Mullahs 
of  Asia  and  Africa,  the  Imaums  and  Sheiks  of  Islam  but  rep- 
resent a  force  that  Christendom  must  meet  in  final  conflict. 
Evangelization  indeed  advances,  but  evokes  resistance.  All 
the  world  knows  that  Christianity  in  the  East  is  defended 
solely  by  military  force,  and  not  by  spiritual  ideas,  and  that 
only  in  this  way  can  the  vantage  ground  already  gained  be 
preserved.  Retreat  O'f  the  nominally  Christian  powers  of  Eu- 
rope means  failure.  Advance  means  collision.  The  whole 
East  understands  that  the  military  conquest  of  their  territory 
and  its  occupation  by  the  powers  of  Europe,  for  the  sake  of 
trade  and  gain,  means  its  subjection  to  that  type  of  Christianity 
which  makes  aggressive  war,  not  for  the  sake  of  justice  and 
humanity,  liberty  and  truth,  but  for  selfish  ends.  Once  more 
political  Judaism  and  Mohammedanism  seek  to  unite  against 
the  Gospel  of  Christ. 

How  soon  the  Gospel  will  be  preached  to  the  "whole  cre- 
ation," viz.,  "among  all  nations,"  is  the  undetermined  point. 
The  events  and  signs  foretold  in  prophecy,  and  as  seen  in 
history,  are  now  our  only  guide.  If  "the  fullness  of  the  na- 
tions" means,  as  the  Greek  term  imports,  the  "full  number 
of  the  nations,"  so  that  no  others  arc  to  enter  history,  that 
number  is  now  complete,  and  what  remains  before  the  Lord 


APPENDIX.  283 

comes  is  their  evangelization,  the  scenes  attcndinp^  the  return 
of  the  Jews,  their  last  struggle  with  the  nations,  and  the  trial 
of  the  faithful  everywhere  "during  the  times  of  the  last  Anti- 
christ. In  this  light  the  hope  of  the  faithful  is  bright.  The 
fact  is  that  i/ie  chief  eiicoiaagancnt  of  the  Chinch,  extern- 
ally, is  found  not  in  the  meagre  increment  of  5  per  cent.,  much 
less  in  oncfifih  of  i  per  cent. ,  as  the  fgufcs  show,  but  in  the 
conquest  and  occupation  of  heathendom  by  the  European 
powefs—notu'ithstandieg  their  crimes— and  the  attending  pro- 
tection given  to  Christian  missions.  The  more  rapid  the  in- 
vasion and  partition  of  the  East  and  South,  the  more  rapid  the 
evangelization,  and  the  nearer  the  last  collision  and  the  solu- 
tion of  that  great  problem  which  expires  with  the  end  of  the 
"Warfare  Great." 

We  are  left  to  our  own  judgment,  enlightened  by  the  "sure 
word  of  prophecy."  All  the  phenomena  now  apparent  in  the 
social,  political  and  religious  world,  in  both  hemispheres,  in- 
dicate that  we  are  now  in  a  transition  state.  Of  this  no  one 
doubts.  Institutions,  both  secular  and  ecclesiastical,  which, 
because  of  their  long  duration,  have  been  regarded  as  im- 
perishible,  are  being  disestablished.  Unbelief  in  Christendom 
threatens  to  sweep  away  the  old  faith.  The  spiritual  life  of  the 
Church  is  in  inverse  proportion  to  her  outward  extension, 
wealth  and  worldliness.  Political  and  international  events, 
whose  weight,  multitude,  rapid  emergence  and  importance 
have  neverbeen  surpassed,  continue  to  crowd  upon  us.  The 
outward  push  of  a  military  Christendom,  bent  on  the  partition 
of  two  continents,  is  already  a  fact  of  daily  observation,  and 
threatens  a  collision,  the  greatest  ever  known  in  history.  The 
Eastern  Question,  a  dozen  Western  ones._  the  world's  horrid 
armament,  the  antagonism  between  capital  and  labor,  the 
greed  of  empires,  and  the  struggle  to  survive,  the  restlessness 
and  expectation  everywhere,  touch  the  deepest  life  of  hu- 
manitv,  alreadv  strained  with  over-tension.  The  old  question 
recurs,  'TTow'long  shall  it  be  to  the  end?"  The  answer  can 
only  be  one  of  two  alternatives.  Either  a  new  epoch  for  hu- 
manitv — the  forerunner  of  the  end — stands  in  sight,  or  we 
rush  to  the  proper  end  itself.  Between  these  it  might  be  dififi- 
cult  to  choose,  since  the  interval  between  the  6r)th  and  70th 
weeks  is  undetermined.  Yet  1897  years  of  it  are  gone,  and 
the  great  prophetic  heralds  of  the  end  are  confronting  us  on 
every  side.  If  Tudaism  and  ^fohammedanism  shall  combine 
in  a  treaty  of  niutual  advantage,  the  "Christian  powers"  con- 
senting for  the  sake  of  the  "peace  of  Europe,"  no  greater  sign 


284  DANIEL'S  GREAT  rROPHECV. 

of  the  open  political  and  moral  apostasy  of  Christendom  will 
ever  have  apjK'arcd  in  history.  We  lay  no  claim  to  the  pro- 
phetic function.  Rather,  our  claim  is  this,  that  the  prophets, 
Christ  and  His  Apostles  have  already  pictured  to  us  the  very 
events  our  eyes  are  now  beholding.  If  an  opinion  must  be  ex- 
pressed in  regard  to  a  subject  so  vast,  complicated  and  ab- 
sorbing, it  is  bo'th  sober  and  justfied  to  say  that,  viewing  the 
state  of  Christendom  and  the  world,  as  it  is,  in  the  clear  light 
of  prophecy,  the  remainder  of  the  "Interval"  must  be  relatively 
short,  and  the  "End"  not  far  away.  In  this  judgment  the 
best  interpreters  of  prophecy  agree.  Many  Swiss,  German, 
Russian  and  Swedish  universities  now  lecture  statedly  upon 
the  Jewish  problem,  and  the  interest  taken  in  the  Eastern 
Question  is  phenomenal,  as  Daniel  foretold.  Some  one  is 
calling  out  of  Seir,  "Watchman!  what  of  the  night?" 

As  to  the  time  required  for  the  final  arrangement  of  the 
ten  kingdoms  sprung  from  the  old  Roman  territory,  from  the 
nature  of  modern  warfare,  though  immense  fighting  must  be 
done,  it  cannot  be  greatly  protracted.  If  we  take  Van  Kam- 
pen's  and  Kiepert's  maps  of  the  ancient  world  as  it  was  in 
time  following  the  prophecies  of  Daniel  and  Ezekiel,  and  com- 
pare them  with  a  good  modern  atlas,  we  shall  realize  the  situa- 
tion. The  line  between  the  Eastern  and  Western  foot  of  the 
Colossus  runs  from  Belgrade,  across  the  ]\Iediterranean,  to 
Tunis  in  Africa,  losing  itself  in  the  desert.  On  each  side  in 
the  last  arrangement  five  kingdoms  of  imperial  power  must 
stand.  Already  six  are  on  the  Western  and  three  on  the 
Eastern  side  of  the  line.  The  dismemberment  of  Austro- 
Hungary,  France  going  again  to  the  Rhine,  the  smaller  Eu- 
ropean states  swallowed  up  by  the  greater,  the  rending  of  the 
Turkish  empire,  must  certainly  bring  the  last  arrangement  of 
the  kingdoms.  The  Ottoman  power  holds  the  "bridge"  (Asia 
Minor)  between  the  West  and  East,  and  the  "bridge"  (Pales- 
tine) between  the  Xorth  and  South.  Here  lies  the  storm-centre 
of  the  Eastern  Question,  nor  can  the  nations  have  peace,  nor 
can  the  kingdom  of  Christ  enjoy  a  universal  victory  on  earth, 
nor  Israel  be  restored,  until  both  are  broken.  That  will  break 
the  rest.  Here  ends  the  Eastern  Question,  which  began  2,200 
years  before  Christ,  when  Eastern  princes,  with  their  Northern 
allies,  invaded  Palestine,  and  were  pursued  and  slain  bv  Abra- 
ham— his  victory  and  recovery  of  their  spoil  a  type  of  Israel's 
victory  in  the  latter  day.  The  evolution  of  this  great  ques- 
tion all  believers  will  await  with  solemn  interest.  Prof,  Sayce 
has  clearly  seen,  and  plainly  said,  that  "whoever  holds  Pales- 


APPENDIX.  285 

tine  will  control  not  only  the  ]Mediterranean  and  Constanti- 
nople, but  the  politics  and  commerce  of  the  world."  As  to  the 
completion  of  the  evangelization  of  the  nations,  it  occurs  under 
the  7th  trumpet,  contemporates  with  the  Great  Tribulation, 
and  is  crowned  with  the  Second  Coming  of  the  Son  of  Man, 
the  resurrection  of  the  holy  dead,  the  rapture  of  the  Church, 
the  destruction  of  the  Antichrist,  the  deliverance  of  new-born 
Israel,  the  judgment  of  the  nations,  and  the  kingdom.  Until 
then  the  "Warfare  Great''  continues. 

"Till  He  come"  so  runs  the  line, 

]\Iarking  off  the  term  of  ill; 
Darkest  hours  of  power  malign 

Never  more  an  hour  to  fill. 

"Till  He  come"  the  might  of  hell 

Still  against  the  saints  shall  rage, 
And,  beneath  the  Tempter's  spell, 

Men  in  strifes  and  sins  engage; 

"Till  He  come,"  wrong  will  prevail, 

And  the  right  be  done  in  vain; 
Truth's  confession  still  entail 

Toil,  and  obloquy,  and  pain; 
But  Our  Hope  can  brook  delay, 

Waiting  such  a  glorious  day! 

It  is  best  not  to  dogmatise.  The  word  from  the  watch-tower 
of  the  prophet  is,  "The  vision  is  yet  for  an  appointed  time,  but 
at  the  end  it  will  speak,  and  not  lie.  Though  it  tarry,  wait  for 
it,  because  it  will  surely  come;  it  will  not  tarry."  Hab.  ii:  3. 
This  attitude  of  patient  expectation  is  of  divine  commandment. 
Amid  all  vicissitudes  the  one  abiding  comfort  is  this,  "Jesus 
Christ,  the  Same,  yesterday,  to-day  and  forez'cr."  Heb.  xiii:  8. 
The  Church's  duty  is  clear:  (i)  To  give  the  Gospel,  at  once,  to 
the  neglected  parts  of  heathendom;  (2)  to  work  and  pray  for 
Israel's  conversion;  (3)  to  save  all  the  souls  she  can  and  do  all 
the  good  she  can;  (4)  to  bear  a  faithful  witness  to  the  truth; 
(5)  to  keep  herself  unspotted  from  the  world;  (6)  to  study 
earnestly  the  signs  of  the  times,  and  (7")  to  wait,  watch  and 
pray,  uttering  back  the  promise  of  the  Lord,  "Amen!  Even  so, 
come,  Lord  Jesus!" 


X. 

DATES  OF  THE  PROPHECIES  OF  DANIEL.  AGE  OF 
DANIEL,  KINGS,  THEME,  PLACE,  AND  CHRONO- 
LOGICAL ORDER  OF  THE  CHAPTERS. 


CHAP. 

B.C. 

KING. 

AGE. 

THEME. 

PLACE. 

I. 

606 

Neb. 

15 

Captivity. 

Babylon. 

II. 

603 

2nd  Neb. 

18 

Colossus. 

Babylon. 

III. 

586 

igth.  Neb. 

35 

Furnace. 

Babylon. 

IV. 

558 

36th  Neb. 

63 

Mania. 

Babylon. 

VII. 

540 

1st  Belshazzar. 

8r 

Four  Beasts. 

Babylon. 

VIII. 

538 

3rd  Belshazzar. 

83 

Antiochu  :. 

Babylon, 

V. 

538 

3rd  Belshazzar. 

83 

Feast. 

Babylon. 

VI. 

538 

1st  Darius. 

83 

Den. 

Babylon. 

IX. 

53S 

1st  Darius. 

83 

Seventy  Weeks. 

Babylon. 

X-XII. 

534 

3rd  Cyrus. 

87 

Warfare  Great. 

Persia. 

That  is,  under  Nebuchadnezzar's  reign  we  have  the  bioo-ra- 
phy  of  Daniel,  the  Colossus,  the  furnace  and  the  King's  mania; 
under  Belshazzar,  the  Four  Beasts,  Antiochus  and  the  .Alac- 
cabean  tribulation,  the  feast,  and  the  fall  of  Babylon;  under 
Darius  the  Mede,  the  lions'  den  and  the  70  weeks'  prophecy, 
and  under  Cyrus,  the  vision  of  the  Warfare  Great.  The  chro- 
nological order  of  the  chapters  is  this:  i.,  ii.,  iii.,  iv.,  vii.,  viii., 
v.,  vi.,  ix.,  x.-xii. ;  that  is,  after  reading  i.-iv.,  we  omit  v.  and  vi. 
and  immediately  go  to  vii.  and  viii..  then  return  to  v.  and  vi., 
and  from  vi.,  passing  over  vii.  and  viii.,  proceed  to  ix.  and  x.- 
xii.  The  reason  of  this  is  because  the  prophet  has  grouped  the 
historical  chapters  together,  viz..  iii.,  iv.,  v.,  vi.,  between  the 
two  great  prophecies  concern  in  !^-  the  World-Power,  i.  e.,  be- 
tween ii.  and  vii.,  in  order  to  relate  them  to  both,  and  unveil 
between  them  the  hostile  character  and  deeds  of  the  World- 

(2S6) 


APPENDIX.  287 

Power  toward  the  people  of  God,  and  also  to  give,  in  the  vic- 
tory of  "God  Most  High"  over  it,  and  in  the  deliverance  of  His 
people,  a  practical  pledge  of  the  sure  fulfillment  of  what  is 
predicted  in  ii.  and  vii.,  and  of  which  all  the  other  predictions 
are  only  supplementation.  All  is  written  in  the  Chaldee  or 
Aramsan  language,  and  constitutes  the  first  part  of  the  book. 
By  this  means  the  rest  of  the  prophecies,  which  unveil  the 
long  conflict  of  the  Jews  with  the  World-Power,  are  also 
grouped  together,  unbroken,  in  viii.-xii.,  and  are  written  in 
Hebrew,  the  language  of  Israel. 


XI. 

CHRONOLOGY. 

B.  C.  621.  Daniel  born  under  the  reign  of  Josiah. 

B.  C.  606,  First  capture  of  Jerusalem  by  Nebuchadnezzar;  be- 
his  friends. 

DR  WEST— GAL  16 

ginning-  of  captivity;  deportation  of  Daniel  and 
his  friends. 

B.  C.  603.  Dream  of  the  Colossus. 

B.  C.  598.  Second  capture  of  Jerusalem;  Ezekiel  deported,  and 
others. 

B.  C.  586.  Third  capture  of  Jerusalem;  burning  of  Temple; 
first  destruction  of  the  city;  completed  deporta- 
tion. 

B.  C.  585.  State-concert  on  the  plains  of  Dura;  anniversar}' 
of  Jerusalem's  fall;  the  fiery  furnace. 

B.  C.  570.  The  girdled  tree;  King's  mania. 

B.  C.  562.  Nebuchadnezzar's  death. 

B.  C.  561.  Accession  of  Evil-Merodach. 

B.  C.  555.  Accession  of  Nabonnaid,  the  father  of  Belshazzar. 

B.  C.  558.  Accession  of  Neriglissar. 

B.  C.  549.  Overthrow  of  the  Median  Empire  of  Cyrus. 

B.  C.  541.  Co-regency  of  Befshazzar,  son  of  Nabonnaid,  and 
grandson  of  Nebuchadnezzar. 

B.  C.  541.  Daniel's  vision  of  the  Great  Tribulation  and  the 
Second  Coming  of  Christ. 

B.  C.  538.  Vision  of  the  Alaccabean  persecution  and  profana- 
tion of  the  second  Temple;  Antiochus. 

B.  C.  538.  Defeat  of  Nabonnaid  in  Accad  by  Cyrus. 

B.C.' 538.  Fall  of  Babylon;  death  of  Belshazzar:  Ck:il)ryas. 

B.  C.  538.  Accession  of  Darius  the  ]\Iede,  by  authority  of 
Cyrus. 

B.  C.  538.  Prophecy  of  the  70  weeks. 

B.  C.  538.  Daniel  in  the  lions'  den. 

B.  C.  536.  Cyrus  sole  ruler  of  Babylon. 

B.  C.  536.  Edict  of  Cyrus  for  Jewish  liberation;  end  of  cap- 
tivity; beginning  of  the  restoration;  second 
Temple. 

B.  C.  534.  Christoi)hany,  and  vision  of  the  Warfare  Great. 

B.  C.  529.  Death  of  Cvrus. 

B.  C.    ?      Death  of  Daniel. 

B.  C.  521.  Accession  of  Darius  Flystaspes. 

(28S) 


APPENDIX.  289 

B.  C.  515.  Completion  of  the  second  Temple. 

B.  C.  490.  Battle  of  Marathon. 

B.  C.  485.  Accessionof  Xerxes  the  Great. 

B.  C.  480.  Invasion    of    Greece    by     Xerxes;    Thermopylae; 

Salamis. 
B.  C.  465.  Accession  of  Artaxerxes  I 
B.  C.  458.  Ezra's  commission. 
B.  C.  444.  Nehemiah's  commission. 

B.  C.  430.  Close  of  Nehemiah's  activity;  end  of  the  restoration. 
B.  C.  334.  Alexander  the  Great  invades  Persia. 
B.  C.  334.  Battle  of  Granicus. 
B.  C.  333.  Battle  of  Issus. 
B.  C.  331.  Battle  of  Arbela. 
B.  C.  325.  Alexander  at  Shnshan. 
B.  C.  323.  Death  of  Alexander  at  Babylon. 
B.  C.  302.  Partition  of  Alexander's  empire. 
B.  C.  323.  Ptolemy  I.,  Soter. 
B.  C.  312.  Seleucus  I.,  Nicator. 
B.  C.  280.  Antiochus  I. 
B.  C.  285.  Ptolemy  II.,  Philadelphus. 
B.  C.  485.  Accession  of  Xerxes  the  Great. 
B.  C.  285.  Septuagint  Version  of  the  Old  Testament. 
B.  C.  261.  Antiochus  II.,  Theos. 
B.  C.  247.  Ptolemy  III.,  Euergetes. 
B.  C.  246.  Seleucus  II..  Kallinikos. 
B.  C.  226.  Seleucus  III.,  Keraunos. 
B.  C.  222.  Antiochus  III.,  the  Great. 
B.  C.  221.  Ptolemy  IV.,  Philopator. 
B.  C.  205.  Ptolemy  V.,  Epiphanes. 
B.  C.  187.  Seleucus  IV. 
B.  C.  181.  Ptolemy  VI.,  Philometor. 
B.  C.  175.  Antiochus  IV.,  Epiphanes. 
B.  C.  173.  Eirst  campaign  of,  against  Egypt. 
B.  C.  170.  Second  campaign  of,  against  Egypt. 
B.  C.  170.  First  campaign  of,  against  Palestine. 
B.  C.  168.  Third  campaign  of,  against  Egypt. 
B.  C.  168.  Second  campaign  of,  against  Palestine. 
B.  C.  168.  The    Maccabean    tribulation;    profanation    of    the 

second  Temple. 
B.  C.  165.  End   of  the   tribulation;   cleansing  of  the   second 

Temple. 
B.  C.  164.  Death  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes  at  Tabre,  in  Persia. 
B.  C.  161.  Death  of  Judas  Maccabceus. 
B.  C.    64.  Capture  of  Jerusalem  by  Pompey, 


290  DANIEVS  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

B.  C.    48.  Battle  of  Pharsalia. 

B.  C.  45.  Debate  on  prophecy  in  the  Senate  House  at  Rome; 
the  Sibyl;  Caesar, 

B.  C.    44.  Assassination  of  Caesar. 

B.  C.    42.  Battle  of  Phillippi. 

B.  C.    28.  Augustus  Caesar,  first  Emperor  of  Rome. 

A.  D.  I.  BIRTH  OF  JESUS  CHRIST,  538  years  after  the  fall  of 
Babylon  by  Cyrus,  i.  e.,  538  years  after  Gabriel's 
prediction  of  His  birth  to  occur  at  the  close  of  the 
69th  week  of  the  70  weeks;  and  536  years  after 
the  edict  of  Cyrus  for  the  Jewish  liberation;  first 
Christmas. 

A.  D.  30.  Baptism  of  Jesus — common  reckoning. 

A.  D.  34.  Crucifixion  of  Jesus. 

A.  D.  70.  Second  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  by  Titus;  burning 
of  the  second  Temple. 
From  B.  C.  28  to  A.  D.  1898,  so  far,  the  Roman  "Times  of 

the  Gentiles,"  or  duration  of  the  Fourth  Prophetic  Empire 

and  its  kingdoms,  i.  e.,  the  legs,  feet  and  toes  of  the  Colossus. 

The  Fourth  Beaft.  out  of  whose  horns  the  Little  Horn,  or  last 

Antichrist,   is  yet  to  come,   still   exists.     The   Colossus  still 

stands. 


XII. 

DANIEL'S  GRAVE. 

There  need  be  no  disinile  as  to  the  burial  place  of  the  great 
prophet.  Eminent  scholars  have  carefully  investigated  the 
whole  question.  Fabre  d'Envieu  of  the  Sorbonne  (1888), 
Diisterwald  of  Bonn  (1890)  and  Evetts  of  the  British  Museum 
1897)  alike  reject  the  statement  of  the  pseudo-Epiphanius, 
hat  Daniel  died  at  Babylon,  and  confirm  the  statement  of 
Aboulfaradj,  that  he  died" at  Shushan.  Benjamin  Tudela,  the 
celebrated  Spanish  Rabbi  and  traveller,  in  the  12th  century, 
narrates  in  his  "Excursions"  that  when  he  visited  Shushan 
the  citv  had  a  population  of  7,000  Jews,  besides  14  synagogues. 
In  front  of  one  of  these  stood  the  tomb  of  Daniel,  whom  all 
the  people  held  to  be"  the  greatest  satrap  of  Babylon  and 
Persia,  the  most  illustrious  viceroy  of  Shushan  under  Cyrus  the 
Great."  This  tradition  they  asserted  to  be  a  sacred  and  un- 
broken one.  Some  years  'ago  the  French  explorers,  under 
Dieulafoy.  were  driven  away  from  the  tomb  by  an  armed  band 
pf  Arabs',  Persians  and  Jews'.  800  in  number,  rushing  to  protect 
it  from  the  "infidels"  who  sought  to  profane  it  "out  of  cu- 
riosity," as  they  did  the  tombs  of  the  Pharaohs.  The  natives 
believed  that  "divine  vengeance"  would  fall  upon  them,  should 
th^y  allow  the  French  to  violate  the  repose  of  "a  man  so 
beloved  of  God."  The  Sheik  Mohammed-Tahir  interfered  to 
keep  the  peace.  The  Governor  of  Arabistan  petitioned  the 
Persian  Government  to  guard  the  sacred  spot.  After  pro- 
tracted negotiations  between  Teheran  and  Paris  the  French 
withdrew.  Interesting  accounts  concerning  the  tomb  are 
given  in  Loftus'  "Travels  in  Chaldea  and  Susiana,"  p.  317; 
in  Fabre  d'Envieu's  "Le  Prophete  Daniel,"  i.,  p.  22;  Diister- 
wald's  "AVeltreiche,"  p.  8,  and  in  Haneberg's  "Das  Grab 
Daniel's"  in  "Geschichte  der  Bibl.  Offenbarung,"  p.  414-  In 
the  Roman  Martyrology  Daniel's  memorial  day  is  July  21. 
Jew    Moslem  and  Christian  alike  venerate  that  holy  spot. 


K  .   ) 


MILITARY  CHRISTENDOM. 

In  Utto  Hiibncr's  "Statistischc  Talicllcn"  for  1897.  Professor 
von  Juraschck,  Austrian  Court  Chancellor,  and  i'ellow  of  the 
London  Royal  Statistical  Society,  gives  the  population  of  the 
globe,  from  the  most  recent  official  sources,  as  1,535.000,000, 
or  23,000,000  more  than  in  1896.  Of  this  increase,  7.5  per  cent, 
belongs  to  Africa,  6.5  to  Asia,  5.7  to  Europe,  3.2  to  the  Ameri- 
cas. The  population  of  Asia  is  752,000,000,  of  Africa  265.000,- 
000,  of  Europe  378,000,000,  of  the  Americas  140,000,000.  Dur- 
ing 1896  the  United  States  increased  over  2,000,000;  its  popu- 
lation now  75,000,000.  Russia  increased  over  8,000,000;  its 
population  now  135,000,000.  The  total  European  population 
is  378,000,000,  or  one-fourth  that  of  the  globe.  Allowing  500,- 
000,000  as  nominally  Christian,  1,035,000.000  remain  for 
heathendom.  China's  population  is  345.000.000.  India's  296.- 
000,000,  Japan's  45.000,000.  Great  Britain  rules  over  382,000.- 
000  of  the  human  race. 

The  military  aspect  of  Nineteenth  Century  Christendom  is 
not  without  its  significance  for  those  who  raise  the  question, 
'Ts  the  world  growing  better?"'  If  disorder,  blood,  murder, 
massacre,  swords,  bayonets,  guns,  torpedoes,  dynamite,  armies 
and  navies  are  evidence  of  moral  improvement,  and  the  fruit 
of  Christian  civilization,  the  world  is  on  the  rapid  road  to  per- 
fection. Creat  Britain,  population  39.000.000  at  home,  has 
an  army  of  220,000  men,  besides  an  Indian  armv  of  166.000, 
\'olunteers  261,000,  Militia  145,800,  Reserves  76,800;  total, 
869.594,  with  a  licet  of  854  war  vessels  carrying  2,564  guns. 
At  the  Victoria  Jubilee  her  licet  extended  5  miles,  fourlines 
deep,  not  a  vessel  called  in  from  any  foreign  station.  Her 
naval  expenditure,  1897,  was  $38,500,000,  augmented  for  1898 
by  $127,750,000.  Russia,  po])ulation  135.000.000.  has  a  pres- 
ent army  of  4,679.000.  a  "prospective"  army  of  12,000,000,  a 
fleet  of  265  vessels  and  1,600  guns.  France,  population  38.- 
520,000,  ruling  80,000,000,  has  an  army  of  4.300.000  and  a  fleet 
of  135  vessels,  3,876  guns.  The  combined  expenditure  of 
Russia  and  I-^rance  for  naval  purposes  in  1897  was  $26,055,000. 
augmented  in  i897-'98  by  $100,000,000.  the  budgets  cotVstant- 
ly  increasing,  as  is  the  case  with  all  the  Powers.     Germany, 

(292) 


MILITARY  CHRISTENDOM. 


293 


population  52,000,000,  has  an  army  of  4,300.000  and  a  fleet  of 
190  vessels,  1.460  guns.  Austro-Hungary,  population  44.900,- 
000,  has  an  army  of  2,076,000,  and  a  fleet  of  142  vessels,  guns 
y72.  Spain,  population  27,000,000,  has  an  army  of  600,000 
men  and  a  fleet  of  130  vessels,  654  guns,  both  increasing.  Por- 
tugal, population  19,320,000,  has  an  army  of  154,000  and  a  fleet 
of  34  vessels,  131  guns.  Italy,  population  31,290,000,  has  an 
army  of  1,473.000  and  a  fleet  of  341  vessels,  guns  1.742.  Hol- 
land, population  38.307,000.  has  an  army  of  888,000,  a  fleet  of 
130  vessels,  669  guns.  Denmark,  Sweden-Norway  and  Bel- 
gium, total  population  15.670.000,  have  together  an  army  of 
857,000  men,  with  146  vessels,  guns  957.  These  nominally 
"Christian  Powers,"  great  and  small,  have  together  an  armv 
of  20,196,594  trained  men,  2,187  ships  of  wan  with  14,385 
guns,  all  powerless  by  reason  of  their  rivalries,  greed,  jeal- 
ousies, mutual  fear,  international  law,  and  "Concert  of  the 
Powers,"  to  restrain  the  Turk  from  his  atrocities,  or  compel 
Spain  to  des:st  from  her  even  greater  crimes.  The  United 
States,  population  75.000,000,  with  an  army  not  merely  of 
25,000,  but  capable  of  increase  to  1.000,000  men  in  30  days, 
and  overflowing  with  money  more  than  enough  for  all  naval 
and  army  purposes,  has  witnessed,  inactively,  for  3  years  past, 
the  most  inhuman  cruelties,  butchery,  and'  extermination  of 
600.000  men.  women  and  children  struggling  in  Cuba  against 
the  tyranny  cf  Spain.— the  navy  of  the  United  States  support- 
ing in  its  crimes  the  bloodiest  and  most  barbarous  civilized 
Christian  nation  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  It  is  the  "Monroe 
Doctrine."  "It  is  Christian  International  Law!" — "Christian 
International  Politics!"— the  cry  of  the  "Peace  of  the  United 
States."  even  as  the  transatlantic  cry  was  the  "Peace  of  Eu- 
rope." No  prophet  of  ancient  times  could  have  witnessed  such 
a  condition  of  afifairs  among  a  people  in  a  land  called  "Chris- 
tian." and  not  proclaimed  the  "Day  of  the  Lord"  as  "near," 
and  the  liypocritfcal  catchword,  "Peace  with  Honor,"  as  an 
omen  of  judgment  to  avenge  the  blood  of  the  innocent  and  the 
loss  of  righteousness,  mercy  and  truth. 

In  face  of  the  cries  of  outraged  humanitv.  carnage,  atroci- 
ties, and  crimes  whose  mention  makes  the  blood  run  cold,  the 
governments  of  earth,  ruled  by.  the  gangrened  politicians  of 
the  day  in  league  with  Mammon,  and  hypocriticallv  pleading 
"Peace,"  and  "Christian  Principles."  refuse  to  intervene  in 
behalf  of  the  downtrodden  and  oppressed,  unless  their  "busi- 
ness interests"  are  endangered,  or  the  threatened  loss  of  partv 
and  of  power  compels  their  action.    The  idol  they  worship  is 


294 


DANIELS  GREAT  PROPHECY. 


selfishness,  their  policy  high  treason  to  God,  their  country, 
and  Humanity,  to  Righteousness  and  Truth,  to  Justice,  Lib- 
erty, and  Mercy. 

The  like  excuse  for  inaction  confronts  the  fearful  situation 
in  the  Old  World,  and  retards  the  deliverance  of  the  Christian 
nationalities  from  the  Ottoman  yoke,  and  the  repossession  of 
his  land  by  the  Jews.  Military  Christendom  stands  powerless 
to  execute  justice  and  judgment,  by  reason  of  its  selfishness 
and  fear.  England  rules  290,000,000  of  Asiatics,  among  which 
her  sceptre  covers  78,000,000  of  ^Mohammedans,  whose  good- 
will is  important  for  her  "business  interests."  Other  powers 
are  similarly  related  to  the  Moslem  world,  whose  total  popu- 
lation is  272,000,000,  spread  over  India,  China,  Turkey,  Egypt, 
Arabia,  Africa  and  other  places.  Of  these,  78,000,000  are  un- 
der the  British  flag,  bound  together  by  an  antichristian  faith, 
all  regarding  England  now  as  their  foe,  Russia  and  France  as 
their  friend.  Under  China  there  are  40,000,000;  under  Russia, 
20,000.000;  under  Holland,  20,000,000;  under  France,  4,000,- 
000.  The  Moslem  knows  that  the  "Concert  of  Europe"  is  a 
mere  device  to  stave  off  the  settlement  of  the  Eastern  Oues- 
tion,  until  the  opportune  moment  arrives  to  divide  his  bank- 
rupt estate  among  the  "Powers,"  and  that,  while  professing 
friendship  for  the  Turk,  Russia's  aim  is  Constantinojile,  the 
revival  of  the  old  Eastern  Empire,  and  the  sway  of  Asia ;  Eng- 
land resisting  the  policy,  yet  nursing  another,  viz.,  the  re- 
possession of  Palestine  by  the  Jews,  the  defeat  of  Russian 
influence  in  the  East,  and  the  increase  of  her  own  empire.  He 
knows  that  the  "integrity  of  the  Ottoman  empire"  is  neces- 
sary to  the  "Peace  of  Europe"  and  the  "Balance  of  Power," 
and  plays  ofif  one  Power  against  another,  and,  so,  is  master 
of  the  occasion,  and  occasion  of  the  "deadlock"  of  the  Powers 
in  any  movement  for  the  liberation  of  peoples  oppressed  by  his 
tyranny.  He  conciliates  the  Jew  to  strengthen  his  finances, 
and  oppose  the  policy  of  "Christian  Europe"  in  any  attempt 
to  crowd  his  empire.  England,  Queen  of  the  Seas,  and  Rus- 
sia, lord  of  the  land,  both  bid  for  his  sympathy  and  influence 
in  the  East,  each  opposing  the  other. 

The  object  of  Europe  is  the  partition  of  Asia  and  Africa, 
each  Power  envious  of  the  other.  England  stands  alone  in 
her  "splendid  isolation."  checkmated  in  any  movement  for  lib- 
erty, humanity  and  justice  among  the  oppressed  nations.  She 
has  lived  to  repent  of  the  Crimean  \\'ar,  seen  the  Turk  alien- 
ated from  her  and  embraced  by  Russia,  witnessed  a  "Triple 
Alliance"  against  her,  the  alliance  also  of  Russia  and  France, 


MILITARY  CHRISTEXDOM.  295 

the  estrangement  of  Germany,  the  control  of  China  by  Rus- 
sia, and  the  disapproval  of  her  Egyptian  and  African  policy. 
Germany  hates  1- ranee,  as  France  hates  Germany,  and  Russia 
dreads  England,  as  England  dreads  Russia.  The  effect  of  the 
total  situation  is  that  "Christian  Europe,"  so-called,  maintains 
itself  by  force  of  arms,  and  not  by  spiritual  ideas,  nor  by  a  law 
of  righteousness,  so  that  a  military  force  of  20,196,594  trained 
scldicrs  and  a  navy  of  2,187  vessels,  guns  14,385,  are  impotent 
to  suppress  the  Turk.  Hence  the  revival  and  reunion  of  all 
Islam,  and  the  projected  combination  of  the  Moslem  and  the 
Jew. 

What  changes  in  alliances  will  occur,  he  may  tell  who  can 
trace  the  way  of  an  eagle  in  the  air,  or  of  a  serpent  on  a  rock. 
The  Russo-French  alliance  has  a  double  face  of  war  and 
peace;  of  peace  as  a  counterpoise  to  the  preponderance  of  Ger- 
man influence  in  Europe, — of  war  as  a  dream  of  the  reconquest 
of  the  Rhine  provinces  by  France.  Germany,  Austria  and 
Russia  stand  for  despotic  rule,  and  the  repression  of  demo- 
cratic freedom.  England,  Italy  and  I'rance  stand  for  liberty; 
all  pushing  into  the^East  and  South  for  acquisition  of  wealth 
and  power, — the  Moslem  and  the  Jew  the  ones  with  whom 
they  all  must  reckon.  The  crisis  cannot  long  be  delayed. 
England,  with  all  her  faults,  cannot  long  remain  in  isolation. 
Will  the  three  great  Northern  military  Powers  stand  pitted 
against  the  three  Southern  and  Mediterranean  naval  Powers? 
Will  France  go  to  England,  forsaking  Russia?  Will  Greece 
go  to  Russia'  or  to  England,  or  to  France,  when  the  crisis 
comes?  Three  options  remain  to  England:  (i)To  unite  with 
the  "Triple  Alliance,"  (2)  to  unite  with  France  and  Russia, 
bringing  in  Japan  as  her  ally,  (3)  to  conciliate  the  Turk,  break 
his  alliance  with  Russia,  unite  with  Japan  and  France,  and, 
maintaining  friendship  w^ith  Persia  and  Afghanistan,  seek  the 
"Reform"  of  the  l\roslem,  and  promote  the  interest  of  the  Jew. 
And  the  probal)ility  is  that  of  a  general  break  in  the  whole 
diplomacy  of  Europe,  when  the  time  comes  for  the  last  strug- 
gle, with  the  Turk  ever  irreformable,  and  alliances  such  as  the 
"shrewdest  diplomats  have  deemed  impossible; — a  chaos  of  poli- 
tics. Anti-Semitism  here,  Anti-Islam  there,  Anti-Slavism  here, 
Anti-Hellenism  there.  Antichrist  and  Antichristianity  every- 
where! God  alone  can  solve  the  World's  Problem.  Ris^hteous- 
ness  and  Peace  come  only  through  the  Judgment  of  the  Na- 
tions. 

As  these  lines  go  to  press,  the  Congress  of  the  United  States 
is  contending  with  the  administration  in  reference  to  the  course 


296  DANIELS  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

to  be  pursued  toward  Spain,  for  her  l)rutal  treatment  of  the 
Cubans  and  her  treaclierous  nocturnal  assassination  of  266 
American  sailors  in  harbor  of  Havana,  and  her  destruction  of 
the  battle-ship  "  Maine."  All  that  the  power  of  mammon  and 
business  interests  can  do,  backed  by  the  Presidential  delay, 
and  a  score  of  expedients,  even  to  mediation  by  the  Pope  and 
foreign  powers,  has  been  done  to  prevent  the  immediate  exe- 
cution of  righteousness  in  the  case,  the  vindication  of  national 
honor,  and  virtually  to  make  the  United  States  government 
guarantee  the  integrity  of  the  Spanish  empire,  while  proposing 
relief  and  reform  for  Cuba.  It  is  the  identical  policy  of  the 
"  Concert  of  Europe"  in  reference  to  the  Turkish  empire  and 
the  peoples  under  the  Turkish  yoke.  It  remains  to  be  seen 
whether  the  Congress,"  waked  to  its  duty  by  the  voice  of  an 
outraged  nation,  will  put  an  end  to  the  Presidential  "policy" 
of  still  further  procrastination.  Aggressive  war  for  the  sake 
of  mammon,  commerce,  trade,  wealth,  territory,  power,  is  a 
crime  against  (jod  and  humanity.  Aggressive  war  in  behalf  of 
justice,  liberty,  humanity,  mercy,  righteousness,  and  truth,  is 
a  duty  commanded  of  (lod,  a  sentiment  of  the  heart,  a  dictate 
of  conscience,  a  part  of  the  international  law,  and  is  the  un- 
corrupted  voice  of  mankind.  It  belongs  to  the  glory  of  Mes- 
siah, that  He  "delivers  the  poor  and  needy  when  he  crieth,  and 
him  that  hath  no  helper."  "  He  breaks  in  pieces  the  rod  of 
the  oppressor."  When  there  is  "none  to  help,"  He  chooses 
some  nation  as  His  instrument,  and  "puts  on  righteousness 
as  a  breastplate,  and  a  helmet  of  salvation  on  His  head.  He 
puts  on  the  garments  of  vengeance  for  clothing,  and  is  clad 
with  zeal  as  a  cloak."  Isa.  lix:  16-18.  "  Righteousness  exalt- 
eth  a  nation,  but  sin  is  a  reproach  to  any  people,"  Prov.  xiv: 
24.  "  In  righteousness  He  doth  judge  and  make  war."  Rev. 
xix:  II.  It  remains  to  be  seen  whether  the  United  States 
shall  at  last  coerce  Cuba  into  submission,  on  terms  proposed 
to  her  by  the  President  or  Congress,  even  as  slaughtered 
Greece  was  "coerced,"  or,  in  good  faith,  be  made  "free  and 
independent." 


INDEX. 


A. 

Abolition  of  Jewish  worship,  95,  96,  iii,  118. 

Abomination  of  desolation,  70,  72,  95,  iii,  121,  162,  206,  207, 

262. 
Advent,  the  first,  only  in  IX.,  42,  43. 

the  Second,  in  VII.,  55,  57. 

not  secret,  58,  198,  218. 

time-point  of,  252,  253. 

precedes  Millennium,  220-222, 

in  John's  Revelation,  252. 
Ages,  succession  of  the,  225. 

of  Ages,  226,  227, 
Age,  character  of  the  present,  192,  193,  283. 
Allah  IMaozim,  176. 
Alexander  the  Great,  93,  94,  156,  239. 
Altar,  Heathen,  set  up,  95. 
Alliances,  ancient  and  niodern,  57,  58,  295. 
Ancient  of  Days,  73. 
Angels,  in  the  judgment,  yy,  78,  253. 

special  ones,  253,  254. 
Angelic  Dialogue,  96,  203. 
Antichrist,  the,  169-175. 

photograph  of,  175. 

types  of,  63,  170,  171. 

is  "the  King,"  175. 

sitting  in  the  Temple,  181. 

last  campaign  of,  171-181. 
Any-moment  Adventism,  127-130. 
Antiochus  Epiphanes,  90,  94-99,  160. 

a  type,  170,  171. 

last  campaigns  of,  161,  162. 

death  of,  170. 
Appearing  of  Christ,  the,  our  hope,  128. 
Apocalypse  by  John,  247-255. 
Arbitration,  219,  279. 
Armageddon,  258. 
Armies,  modern,  183,  293-295. 

U97) 


^g8  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

Ascension,  not  in  VII. ,  8i,  82. 
Assize,  the  great,  53-56. 

B. 
Babylon,  Lament  by  the  rivers  of,  21,  22. 
the  fall  of,  106,  109. 

and  the  Beast,  250. 
Bar  Enash,  79-81. 
Battle,  the  coming  great,  250. 
Beast,  the  Four,  53. 
Beasts,  the  Four,  53. 

identity  with  John's  Beast,  251. 
Books,  The,  opened,  78. 
Book  of  Daniel,  its  canonicity,  16. 

its  authenticity,  16. 

character  and  lesson  of,  16. 

scope  of  the,  17,  21-23. 

central  thesis  of  the,  25. 

the,  is  a  "Scripture  of  Truth,    201,  202. 

critical  questions  as  to,  49"5i- 

completion  of  the,  201. 

predicted  study  of  the,  201,  202. 

testimonies  to  the,  238. 

the,  is  Truth,  134,  MS.  203,  204. 

chronology  for  the,  288-290. 

summation  of  the,  213-217. 
Bridge  between  East  and  West,  284. 

North  and  South,  284. 

C. 

Chiliasm,  204,  227-232,  267,  269,  270,  271. 

science  and,  225-227. 

objections  to,  220. 

testimony  to,  227-230. 

testimony  to  the  writer,  227-232. 
Christendom,'  Crimes  of,  65-67. 

the  judgment  of,  /S',  185. 

an  apostatising,  181. 

military  aspect  of.  183,  215,  293-295. 

general  aspect  of,  283. 
Christ,  a  Critic  of  the  critics,  266. 
Christophany,  The  great,  137. 
Chronology,  secular  and  biblical,  235,  23O. 
Chronological  Table,  288-290. 


INDEX.  2gq 

Church,  the,  not  m  Daniel,  215. 

given  her  place  in  Olivet  discourse,  247. 

her  place  in  the  Revelation,  216. 

duty  of  the,  216. 
Coming,  Appearing,  and  Revelation  of  Christ,  at  the  same 

time-point,  128. 
Coming  for  His  saints,  197,  198.  (See  "Thief-Time") 
Conversion  of  the  Jews,  106,  in,  112. 

of  the  world,  193. 

covenant  with  Antiochus,  95. 

Berenice,  158. 

Cleopatra,  159. 

Ptolemy,  160,  161. 

the  Antichrist,  in. 
Criticism,  The  Higher,  264-266. 
Culture  and  Civilization,  190. 
Cyrus  the  Great,  156. 

D. 

Daniel  the  prophet,  his  birth,  29,  288. 

his  character,  29,  30. 

his  mission,  22,  28. 

author  of  the  book  of,  201. 

three  weeks'  fast,  136,  137. 

prostration  of,  140-142. 

recovery  of,  142. 

comfort  for,  143-146. 

depression  of,  136,  137. 

perplexity  of,  204. 

first  dismissal  of,  205. 

second  dismissal  of,  208. 

the  grave  of,  208,  291. 

the  resurrection  of,  208. 

father  of  universal  history,  241. 
Dates  of  Daniel's  prophecies,  286. 
Davs,  The  1,150,  in  VHL,  205. 
1,260,  in  VH.,  XH.,  205. 
1,290,  in  XH.,  205-208. 
1,335,  i"  ^11-'  205-208. 
Development,  axioms  of,  219. 

meaning  of,  226. 
Diadochian  Kingdoms,  156. 
Diagram  of  the  70  weeks,  115,  116. 

of  the  Time  of  the  End,  173. 
Dialogues,  in  VHI.,  X.,  XH.,  96,  203. 


300 


DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 


Difference  between  Ezekiel's  and  Daniel's  prophecies,  257. 
]!)aniers  prophecies,  257. 
Dream  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  31,  32. 
interpreted,  32,  33. 

E. 

Eastern  Question,  92,  148, 

antiquity  of  the,  184. 

international  politics  of,  155. 

storm-centre  of,  153-158. 

insoluble  by  the  Powers,  189. 
Empires,  the  Four,  53. 

must  be  judged,  185. 

duration  of,  214. 

transient  character  of,  214-216. 
End  of  the  Age,  how  near,  131,  270-274. 

the  Time  of  the,  lOO,  152,  220. 

the,  "not  yet,"  250. 
Episodes  in  the  Revelation,  249. 
Epiphany  is  the  Parousia,  128. 
Epilogue  to  Daniel's  book,  133,  202. 
Epitaph  of  the  Nations,  24,  216. 

Equation  of  Dan.  vii:  13;  Matt,  xxiv:  29-31;  2  Thess.  i:  6-10. 
I  Thess.  iv:  14-17,  Rev.  xi:  15-17,  xiv:  14,  and  xix:  11, 
as  to  their  time-point. 
Error  of  the  writer  corrected,  235. 
Eschatology  and  Messiah,  219. 
Evangelization  not  Conversion,  281. 
Evolution,  Development,  219,  225,  226. 

F. 

Farrar,  on  book  of  Daniel,  264. 
Farewell  to  the  prophet,  231. 
First  Resurrection,  197,  198. 
Fulness  of  the  Gentiles,  282,  283. 

G. 
Gabriel,  139. 

Gladden  Washington,  124. 
Gobryas,  General  of  Cyrus,  51. 
Gog,  and  Magog,  178. 

and  the  Antichrist,  256. 

is  pre-millennial,  also,  257. 
God,  the  ground  of  the  universe,  24,  25. 


INDEX.  301 

ruler  of  the  Nations,  24,  25. 

name  of,  magnified  and  sanctified,  218,  219. 
Grave  of  Daniel,  291. 

of  Gog,  258. 

H. 
Harvest,  the,.  253,  254. 
Hiddckel,  the,  135. 

Higher  Criticism,  the,  Pref.  7-9,  264-266. 
History,  Dififcrence  between  the  prophetic  and  the  crdintuy. 

157- 

does  not  end  with  the  Advent,  123. 

the  laws  of,  186. 

Daniel,  father  of  universal,  241. 
Historical  narratives  in  Daniel,  31. 

Situation,  time  of  Daniel,  30,  31. 
Horns,  the  Ten,  55. 

identity  with' the  Toes,  42. 

discovered,  63. 

they  are  Christians,  65. 

final  arrangement  of,  62,  63,  284. 

retribution  upon  the,  71. 

the  Two  Little,  not  the  same  Horn,  the  Little  Horn,  5;^ 
55.  69.  70,  71,  lOI. 
Hope  of  Israel,  208,  229. 

of  Believers,  229,  230. 

of  the  Nations  and  World,  230. 


Image  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  21. 

of  the  Antichrist,  207. 
Interpretation,  the  spiritualizing,  43,  123,  268,  271,  272. 
Intervals  in  prophecy,  113,  217. 

in  Dan.  ix.,  114,  117. 

in  Dan.  xi.,  157. 

proof  of  supernatural,  157. 
Interval  between  3d  and  4th  week,  217. 

46th  and  70th  week,  217. 

69th  and  70th  week,  217. 
Israel's  place  in  history,  29. 

apostasy  from  God,  29.  30. 

great  tribulation,  192. 

help  in  the  final  crisis,  133,  134. 

deliverance.  189,  194-196. 
place  in  the  Revelation,  195. 


302 


DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY, 


J- 

Jehovah,  how  viewed  by  the  heathen,  30. 
Jerusalem,  all  nations  against,  218,  219. 

final  siege  of,  181,  182. 

sunrise  over,  207. 

centre  of  Millennial  age,  214-223. 

called  "Jehovah-Shammah,"  223. 

and  Rome,  250. 
Jesus  Christ,  the  Stone,  32,  41. 

the  Son  of  Man,  79. 

the  Wonderful  Numberer,  96. 

that  "Certain  Saint,"  96. 

the  Cloud-Comer,  80. 

the  Linen-Clothed   Man,   137,    138,    139. 

the  Birth  of,  iii. 

the  Crucifixion  of,   iii. 

the  Second  Coming  of,  81. 

the  Critic  of  the  Critics,  266. 

the  Monarch  of  the  Fifth  Empire,  83. 
Jews,  the  return  of  the,  11 1,  112,  28. 

the  Tribulation  of  the,  73-75,  94-96,  177-180,  192. 

the  Conversion  of  the,  iii,  112,  194-196,  106. 

the  Deliverance  of,  194-196. 

the  Restoration  of  the,  83-86. 

the  modern  interest  in  the,  185. 

powerless  in  the  last  crisis,  189. 
Joel's  great  prophecy,  181,  182. 
Judgment,  The  vision  of,  53-56. 

time  of  the,  57,  58. 

place  of  the,  59. 

parties  in  the,  61. 

duration  of  the,  64. 

design  of  the,  218. 

books  opened  in  the,  78. 
Justin  Martyr  and  Chiliasm,  269,  270. 

K. 

"King  the,"  Antichrist,  175. 

of  the  North,  171. 

of  the  South,  171. 
Kingdom,  the,  not  in  VIII.,  89. 

the  goal  of  prophecy,  25. 

set  up  in  conflict,  224,  225. 

universal  and  indesctnictible,  216. 


INDEX.  303 

is  a  reign  and  a  realm,  31,  223. 
various  forms  and  spheres  of,  225. 
to  be  "underneath  all  heavens,"  38,  39,  83,  213. 
to  be  given  to  the  Saints,  83-86. 
time-point  of  victory  of,  216. 
character  of,  223,  225. 
Kingdoms  and  Kings,  synonymous,  33. 

M. 

MacDill,  Professor  D..  and  Chiliasm,  270,  271. 
Maccabean  tribulation,  163, 

war-cry,  165. 

heroism,  165. 
"Man  of  Sin,"  176. 
Martyrs  of  the  Law.  163-165,  200. 

of  the  Gospel,  166. 
Median  empire,  overthrown,  98. 
Megiddo,  Armageddon,  256,  258. 

Merriam,  Professor  Geo.  B.,  correcting  the  writer's  erroi,  235 
Michael  standing  up,  179,   180,   190,   191. 
Millennium,  not  in  this  age,  204,  214,  215,  227. 

its  sequence  in  Dan.  VIT. 

its  sequence  in  Zech.  XIV. 

its  sequence  in  Isa.  XXIV.,  XXVI. 

its  sequence  in  Rev.  xx. 
Military  statistics,  185,  215,  292-294. 

Christendom.  215.  293-295. 
Missionary  statistics,  280. 
Mendelsohn.  Judith,  208. 
Montefiore.  Sir  ?^Ioses,  208. 
Mohammedan  power,  overthrown,  86,  87. 

Antiochus,  type  of,  98. 
Moslem,  and  Crusades,  184.  . 

prayer  of  the,  185, 

and  the  Jew,  283. 

statistics  of  the,  294. 

N. 

Nations,  must  be  judged,  183. 

gathered  at  Jerusalem,  182. 

not  wholly  destroyed,  217. 

judgment  in  order  to  save  the.  218. 
Nearness  to  the  End,  131,  270-274. 
New,  the  something  new,  in  prophecy,  31. 


304  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPllECY. 

"Nihtak,"  the  determined,  113,  120. 
Numbers,  the  prophetic,  237. 

O. 

Oath  of  the  Linen-Clothed  Man,  203. 
Olivet,  Mount,  sundered. 

throne  of  glory  over,  79. 
Olivet  Discourse,  247,  262. 
Omar,  Caliph,  181. 
Optimism,  modern,  refuted,  192. 
Order  of  Chapters  in  Daniel,  286. 

of  Events,  yy. 
Outlook  of  Christ  and  Apostles,  192,  193. 

P. 

Palmoni,  Wonderful  Numberer,  96. 
Parousia.  (See  Advent.) 

no  secret,  198. 
People  of  the  Saints,  83,  84. 

their  victory,  85-87. 
Political  ethics,  20. 
Population  of  the  globe,  292. 

of  Christendom,  280. 

of  Europe,  Asia  and  Africa,  292. 
Post-Millennialism,  257,  269-271. 
Pride,  the  heathen,  abased,  22,  23. 
Prince,  the,  that  shall  come,  72,  iii,  121. 
Powers,  attitude  of  the,  295. 
Prayer,  the  Lord's,  218. 
Prologue  to  Daniel's  last  prophecv,  13  v 
Pronouns,  the,  "He,"  "His,"  "Hini,"  V71. 
Prophecy  is  unerring,  26. 

the  fundamental,  31,  36. 

symbols  changed  in,  31. 

the  something  new  in,  31. 

the  cyclic  law  of,  31. 

advance  in.  52. 

debate  in  Roman  Senate  on,  126. 

how  much  of  Daniel's  fulfilled,  180. 

abuse  of,  226,  227. 

a  peculiarity  of,  250. 
Prophetic  numbers,  237. 
Prophets,  all  look  to  the  End.  218.  219. 

all  predict  the  World's  last  battle,  219. 


INDEX.  305 

R. 

Rationalism,  33,  146. 
Reaping  of  the  living  saints,  254. 
Reckoning,  different  modes  of,  120,  134,  135. 
Relation  of  Book  of  Daniel  to  Olivet  Discourse  and  the  Reve- 
lation, 247. 
Remnant,  the,  194. 
Reservation,  God's,  187. 
Resurrection,  of  the  Holy  Dead,  yy,  197,  251,  253. 

Israel's  and  ours,  one,  199. 

time-point  of  the,  yy,  197,  198. 

no  simultaneous  and  universal,  of  the  good  and  evil,  197. 

splendor  of  the,  of  believers,  199. 
Resurrections,  two  distinct,  and  separated  by  time,  197. 
Revelation,  the,   of  Christ,   identical   with   His   Parousia   ami 

Appearing,  and  at  the  same  time-point,  128. 
Revelation,  the,  by  John,  247, 
Rome  and  Jerusalem,  250. 
"Run  to  and  fro,"  202. 


Saints  of  the  Most  High,  83-87. 
Satan,  the  god  of  this  age,  191. 

cast  out  from  the  air,  191. 
"Scripture  of  Truth,"  228. 
►Science  and  the  Ages,  219,  225. 

Second  Coming  of  Christ,  128.  (See  "Coming,"  "Advctit.") 
Seleucids,  the,  156. 
Senate  of  Rome,  debate  in,  126. 
"Sepher"  and  "Sepharim,"  145. 
Sequence  of  kingdom  on  Advent,  220-222,  228. 
Seventy  Weeks,  the.  (See  "Weeks.") 
Signs  of  the  End,  275-277. 
Sociologists  and  World-Reformers,  229. 
Son  of  Alan,  a  Person,  79,  80. 

is  Messiah,  80,  81. 

(See  "Jesus  Christ.") 
Sovereignty,  taken  from  Israel,  213. 

restored  to  Israel,  217-219. 

of  Jesus  Christ,  217. 
Splendor  of  the  Risen  Saints,  199.  200. 
Statue  of  Jupiter,  175. 


306  DANIEL'S  GREAT  PROPHECY. 

"Stone,"  the,  not  a  "rolling"  one,  37. 

impact  of  the,  on  the  toes  of  the  Colossus,  34-46. 

time-point  of  the  impact,  40. 

common  interpretation  of  the,  38. 

Irengeiis  and  Hippolytus  on,  41. 
Succession  of  the  Ages,  226. 
Suffering  and  Glory,  200. 
Suffix,  the  important  Hebrew,  121. 
Sultanate  of  the  Horn,  12. 


Testimonies  to  Daniel  and  his  book,  238. 
Testimony  of  the  writer  to  Chiliasm,  227-232. 
Temple,  the  Jewish,  to  be  built,  113. 

Antichrist  sitting  in,  181,  194. 
Thessalonian  error  corrected,  130. 
Thief-Time,  249. 
Time  of  the  End,  too,  152,  177,  178,  220. 

vision  of  the,  133. 

miracles  in  the,  136. 

the  twofold,  149. 

extension  of  the.  205. 

events  in  the,  220. 

is  not  the  End  of  Time,  123. 
Time-Point  of  the  Advent  and  the  Resurrection  of  Believers, 

T  97- 1 99. 
Times  and  Seasons,  What,  241-243. 
Transition-Section,  the,  169. 
Tribulation,  the  Great,  73,  119,  192. 
Tribulation,  the  Maccabean,  163-165. 
Truth,  Daniel's  book  is,  134,  145,  203,  204. 
"Tsaba  Gadol,"  142,  169. 
Type  and  Antitype,  170. 

V. 

X'alley  of  Decision,  182. 

Jehoshaphat,  182. 
\'ine  of  the  earth,  254. 
Vintage  of  the  earth,  182,  254. 
Vials,  special  introduction  to  the,  249,  254. 
Vial  of  the  Consunmiation,  255. 

W. 

War,  the  Lord's  summons  to  the  nations  to  prepare  for, 
the  modern  war-preparation.  183. 


INDEX.  .     307 

Wars  of  Syria  and  Egypt,  158. 
Warfare  Great,  the,  133,  134,  142,  169. 

Geographical  theatre  of,  155. 
Weeks,  The  Seventy,  no,  112. 

false  translation  of,  121,  122. 

the  7  weeks,  114. 

the  62  weeks,  114. 

the  I  week,  117,  118. 

beginning  of,  113. 

intervals  between,  114,  185. 

the  many  calculations  of,  120,  217. 

confirmation  of,  120-126. 

jurisdiction  of,  127-129. 

dominate  the  New  Testament,  129. 

determine  the  time-point  of  both  Advents,  127.  131- 

prove  Messiahship  of  Jesus,  259-264. 

the  Church-Fathers  on,  122,  123. 

diagram  of,  115,  116. 

the  one  undetermined  point,  120. 
Week,  the  Seventieth.  237,  252. 
Wicked  and  Wise,  in  the  End-Time,  205. 
Winepress  of  Wrath,  182,  250.  254. 
World,  not  converted  in  this  Age,  193. 

Coming  of  Christ  the  only  Hope  of  the.  215. 

X. 

Xerxes  the  Great,  156. 

Y. 

Year-Day  theory  not  in  Daniel,  118,  119. 
Years,  the  Thousand,  224.  225. 
Yeor,  the  River  Nile,  136,  202. 

Z. 

Zionism,  modern  political,  229. 


STUDIES   IN  ESC HATO LOGY 


Th^  Thousand  Vears 

f Millennial  Age.) 


WITH    SUPPLEMENTARY    DISCISSIONS    UPON   THR   OLD    AND    NEW 
TESTAM ENT    APOCALYPSES. 


By   REV.    NATHANIEL    WEST,    D.D 


TESTIMONIALS 


UNITED  PRESBYTERIAN:  "The  author  of  this  book  has  given  us  a  book 
of  profound  I'luditiou  and  research.  The  style  often  rises  to  the  loftiest 
strains  of  eloquence.  The  chapter  on  "Our  I'reseut  A}je"  stirs  the 
reader  like  the  souud  of  a  trumpet." 

EPISCOPAL  RPX'ORDER:  "This  book  is  a  work  of  profound  scholarship, 
by  one  who  is  deservedly  recognized  as  an  able  interpreter  of  the  \\"or(i 
oi'  ood,  and  will  be  read  by  many  who  are  honestly  seeking  the  light, 
and  !)(■  f(iund  wonderfully  instructive.  We  thank  the  author  for  it,  and 
pray  that  it  may  have  access  to  multitudes  of  readers." 

PHILADELPHIA  PKESI5YTEKIAN:  "The  author  of  this  book  has  given 
us  the  fruit  of  his  long-continued  studies  in  esehatology.  and  no  one  is 
more  competent  to  sjieak  on  tliis  sul)ject.  No  one  can  perus(>  its  pagi  s 
and  not  receive  light  and  comfort  from  them.  It  uses  unglo\-ed  hands 
toward  post-millenuianism." 

THE  CHRISTIAN  CYNOSl'RE:  "Dr.  West  handles  his  subject  like  a 
diligent  and  patient  student,  and  in  a  manner  sulUcicntly  erudite  ami 
critical  without  [lassing  beyond  the  comprehension  of  the  ordinary  reader, 
'i'liis  vidume  marks  the  high-tide,  in  this  country,  in  prophetic  study, 
and  will  not  be  omitted  from  those  works  which  the  students  of  prophecy 
regard  as  a  necessity." 

DER  CHRISTLICHE  APOLOGETE:  "The  volume  breathes  an  almost  in- 
spired lo\  ('  for  the  A\  ord  of  Cod  by  one  who  is  no  stranger  to  its  power. 
The  gifted  aulluir  demolishes  the  fond  theories  of  men  who  negate  the 
contents  of  ])roi)hecy  by  their  spiritualistic  interpretations  of  it.  He 
indulges  in  no  dreams.  His  exegetical  i)ower  in  both  Ti'staments  is 
wonderful.  Every  friend  of  prophetic  study  will  thank  Dr.  West  for 
the  invaluable  help  he  has  brought  to  support  a  great  truth  hid  from  so 
many    eyes." 

JAEKEL'S  U.  CRA;>i:ER'S  VIERTEL.TATIRSCHRIFT:  "Dr.  West  treats 
his  subject  exegetically,  and  it  is  inip()ssil)le  to  deny  that  he  puts  into 
the  (dearest  light  many  iiortions  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  of  the  Apoca- 
lypse, which  hitherto  liave  been  obscure.  His  masterpiiH'e  is  tlu'  Seventy 
V\'ecks  of  Daniel,  nor  can  we  see  how  it  can  be  answered.  The  exegesis 
pleases  us  exceedingly.  It  is  fundamental  study  and  fundamental  expo- 
sition. The  style  is  captivating  and  incisive  as  well.  We  bid  it  a  hearty 
wclciime  and  commend  it  earnestly  to  all  sincere  investigators  of  the 
Word    of    God." 

PER  SENDP.OTE:  "The  work  of  Dr.  West  will  stand  the  test  of  genuine 
crilicism.  It  is  a  triumphant  deft-nse  of  the  ))re-millennial  doctrine 
gidiinded  in  both  the  Old  ami  New  Testanu'Hts.  It  is  a  work  oi  funda- 
mental  eschatological   study  of  the  highest   value. 

THE  ^^'rrHODIST  review:  "The  work  before  us  bears  on  every  page 
the  marks  of  intense  and  patient  study,  elaborate  scholarship,  and  ex- 
haustive researedi.  The  author  is  at  home  in  the  Scriptures.  The  book 
is  pa(died  with  learning  and  shows  f:imiliarity  with  the  writings  of  the 
ablest  scholars  in  Christendom,  both  German  and  English.  In  his  treat- 
ment of  the  Seventy  Weeks  he  solves  a  prid)lein  whicli  for  eighteen 
hundred  years  has  baffled  all  Interpreters.  We  kuow  ol  nothing  to  be 
gouij)areU   with   it," 


TKINCETON  REVIEW:  "The  work  of  a  patient  scholar,  yet  aglow  with 
th(  tin  of  K'ciiiUf*.  brilliant  criiditioii.  and  deep  knowledge  of  the  Scrip- 
tures.    On  several   jtoints   we  reserve  our  judgment." 

'•HKSBYTEIUAN  JOURNAL:  "  Every  friend  of  prophetic  truth  will  thank 
I>i  West  for  the  labor  and  pains  he  has  endured  in  their  behalf  in  the 
"reparation  of  this  remarkable  work.     It  is  no  ordinary  book." 

THE  TRUTH:  "This  hook  is  the  result  of  twenty  years  of  devout  study; 
and  if  brilliant  s(liolarslii|).  profound  researcli,  a  trenchant  style,  and  a 
masterly  exposition  can  make  a  work  attractive,  Dr.  West  will  not  lack 
readers" who  will  be  exceedingly  protited  by  his  able  presentation  of  the 
truth." 

THE  ADVANCE:  "The  confidence  of  the  writer  may,  at  times,  be  ob- 
jectionable to  some  of  his  readers,  but  it  must  be  confessed  that  the 
task  tlie  writer  inoiidsed  to  himself,  so  wide  and  deep,  has  been  per- 
formed will)  a  tliorciugluiess  and  zeal,  and  exhaustive  research  to  which 
every   page  bears   witness." 

RELIGIOUS  TELESCOPE:  "This  book  of  Dr.  West  illustrates  the  organ- 
ism of  all  prophecy,  and  perfect  unit.v  of  God's  Word,  and  the  r(>alistie 
meaning  of  the  lively  oracles,  in  remarkable  manner.  It  illuminates.  We 
commend  it   to  every  student." 

FAITHFUL  WITNESS:  "  We  hail  this  volume.  Those  who  love  to  dig 
deep  will  find  abundant  help  here:  a  light  such  as  not  yet  has  dawned 
on  many  minds.  Its  exegesis,  expositions,  summaries,  .arguments  and 
focalizing  of  Bible-light  on  prophetic  themes,  command  our  admiration." 

CONOREOATIOXALIST:  "The  author  has  given  us  the  results  of  a  life- 
long study  (in  tlie  subjects  of  i»i-opliecy  and  eschatology.  The  work  is 
elaborate  aud  appeals  especially  to  scholars." 

THE  NEW  YORK  TRIBUNE:  "Every  page  of  this  rare  book  bears  evi- 
dence that  the  author  is  a  master  of  interpretation  and  a  scholar  whose 
e.ve  has  not  sufl'ered  to  escape  from  him  aiiy  writer  on  the  subject  of 
which  he  treats,  at  home  or  abroad.  It  is  no  mere  index-le.rning  we 
have  here.  The  book  will  rank  high  among  evangelical  scholars  and 
divines." 

PITTSBURG  TIMES:  "The  book  is  no  ordinary  book.  The  chapters  that 
handle  the  Seventy  Weeks  of  Daniel  will,  doubiless.  be  regarded  as  tlie 
most  attractive.  We  cannot  so  effect i\ely  commend  the  book,  as  by 
assuring  the  public  that  the.v  will  tind  not  only  a  very  complete  anil 
masterl.v,  but  absolutely  novel  solution  of  a  probl(>m  wliicli,  alrea(ly, 
specialists  lia\e  noted  as  a  discovery  that  effaces  a  whole  library  of 
abortive   speculations." 

COURIER-.TOURNAL,  LOT'ISVILLE:  "  Solid  learning,  energetic  style,  deep 
conviction,  prolonged  study,  and  a  wide  research  entitle  the  autlioi  <f 
this  book  to  speak  contideiitly.  He  never  indulges  in  over-statement. 
Trained  skill  in  exegesis,  power  of  argument,  grave  satire  of  ecclesiasti<'al 
optimism,  are  among  the  weapons  wielded  against  the  corruptions  iml 
errors  of  the  times." 

FREE  PRESS,  DETROIT:  "  No  one  can  read  the  pages  of  Dr.  West's  oook. 
so  free  from  tlie  feverish  fanaticism  and  excitements  of  modern  Sccoiwl 
Adventisii'  and  the  recklessness  of  mere  tinie-r<'ckoners,  and  not  ^ce, 
even  in  a  casual  glance,  that  he  has  made  an  nnexceptionally  strong  -nse 
in  defense  of  the  primitive  church  view  of  the  millennium.  "  The  book  is 
not  only  one  of  superior  scholarship,  but  of  profound  reverence  for  :he 
Bible." 

INTER-OCEAN.  CHICAGO:  "There  Is  more  sound.  Scriptural  truth  in  this 
book,  more  of  a  well-trained  mind,  deeji  in  the  love  of  tlie  Bible,  and 
more  real  scholarship  than  can  be  found  in  a  hundred  others  on  the 
same   subject." 

THE  CHRISTIAN  UNION:  "M'e  do  not  believe  the  subject  is  more  thor- 
oughly or  abl.\   discussed  in  any  volume  of  our  acquaintance." 

THE  CHRISTIAN,  LONDON.  ENGLAND:  "The  book  is  one  of  the  ablest 
that  has  appeared  in  our  day;  deep  in  its  reverence  for  the  Word  of  God, 
powerful  in  exegesis  and  in  argument,  and  must  be  hailed  with  delight 
by  students  of  prophetic  truth." 

For  sale  by  all  booksellers,  or  sent  post  free  on  receipt  of  price  by  the 

publishers. 


THE  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  HOPE  OF  ISRAEL  MOVEMENT 


The  Hope  of  Israel  Movement  aims  to  bring  the  fullness  of  the  Gospel 
of  Jesus  Christ  to  His  brethren  according  to  the  flesh.  We  hold  that 
Scripture— not  Talniudic  or  Rabbinical,  still  less  Reformed— Judaism  is  as 
much  a  divine  revelation  as  Christianity.  The  canon  of  the  New  Testament 
has  no  higher  divine  authority  than  has  that  of  the  Old.  Neither  is  com- 
plete without  the  other.  Salvation  is  from  the  Jews,  John  iv:  22.  And  the 
Gospel  is  "to  the  Jew  first,"  Rom.  i:  18.  The  Jew  is  not  a  Gentile.  The 
term  "proselyte,"  therefore,  can  never  apply  to  the  Jew.  The  promises 
of  God  are  Israel's,  Rom.  ix:  4,  5.  Gentile  believers  are  the  real  "prose- 
lytes," once  far  off,  now  made  nigh.  Eph.  ii:  12,  13.  The  root  of  God's  good 
olive  tree,  Israel,  bears  us;  not  we  the  root.  Rom.  xi:  17,  18.  To  "prose- 
lyte" the  Jew,  then,  is  to  ignore  and  to  reverse  the  divine  order. 

The  Jew  has  no  need  whatever  of  the  organizations  or  institutions  of  his- 
torical (i.  0.,  Gentile  and  denominational)  Christianity.  All  he  needs  is 
personal,  saving  faith  in  his  own  Jewish  Messiah,  the  Christ  of  God, 
nothing  more.  And  all  that  was  divinely  given  him  through  Moses  he  has 
full  liberty  to  retain  and  uphold  as  far  as  possible  when  he  becomes  a 
believer  in  Jesus  Christ.  This  to  us  clearly  follows  from  these  Scriptural 
considerations: 

•  1.  Abraham— the  divine  pattern  of  the  true  Jew,  as  well  as  of  the 
believing  Gentile,  Rom.  iv:  11,  12— received  circumcision  as  an  everlasting 
covenant  after  he  had  believed  God  unto  justification.  Gen.  xvii:  9-14.  God 
Himself  added  circumcision  to  Abraham's  faith.  And  thus  Paul  writes: 
"Is  any  man  called  being  circumcised?  Let  him  not  become  uncircumcised." 
1  Cor.  vii:  18.  This  was  the  ruling  of  the  Apostle  to  the  Gentiles  in  all 
the  churches.     (Compare  Ezek.   xliv:   7,   9.) 

2.  The  natural  seed  of  Jacob  shall  not  cease  to  be  a  nation  before  the 
Lord  forever.  Jer.  xxx:  11;  xxxi:  35,  C7;  xlvi:  28;  Rom.  xi:  1,  29.  This  is 
God's  eternal  purpose  and  the  secret  of  Israel's  preservation.  Even  so  at 
this  present  time— through  the  Gospel—  a  remnant  of  the  nation  is  being 
saved,  according  to  the  election  of  grace.  Rom.  xi:  ~j.  These  saved  Jews, 
to  be  a  remnant,  should  not  surrender  any  of  the  divinely  appointed  marks 
of  the  nation   Israel.     They   should   not   be   taught   to   un-Jew   themselves. 

3.  The  Lord  Jesus  Christ  was  a  minister  of  the  circumcision  for  the 
truth  of  God.  (Israel's  national  election.)  Rom.  xv:  8.  He  came  not  to 
destroy,  but  to  fulfill,  the  law.  Jewish  disciples  of  Christ,  by  the  word  of 
the  Lord  Himself,  should  not  be  taught  to  break  or  disregard  one  of  these 
commandments.  Matt,  v:  17,  19.  They  should  walk  and  live  even  as  He 
lived  among  His  own  people,  i.  e.,  as  true,  conforming  Jews  (barring,  of 
course,  mere  traditions  of  the  elders  and  the  commandments  of  men).  1 
John  li:  6. 

4.  On  and  from  the  Day  of  Pentecost  myriads  of  Jewish  believers 
were  by  the  Holy  Spirit  baptized  into  fellowship  with  the  glorified  Christ. 
He  did  not  cause  or  direct  either  the  Apostles  or  other  Jewish  believers 
to  "forsake  Moses."  Apostolic  teaching  and  practice  throughout  the  New 
Testament  only  show  Jewish  Christians  "walking  orderly  and  keeping 
the  law."  Acts  ii:  4G,  47;  iii:  1;  vi:  7;  x:  9  (Chap,  xv:  28.  29,  by  implication, 
clearly  makes  observance  of  all  the  laws  and  ordinances  of  Moses  for 
Jewish  believers  a  matter  pleasing  to  the  Holy  Ghost);  xvi:  3;  xviii:  18; 
xx:  16;  xxi:  17-26;  xxlli:  1;  xxv:  8. 

5.  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  is  aLso  Son  of  Abraham  and  Son  of 
David.  He  is  at  once  Head  over  all  things  to  the  Church  (built  up  of  Jews 
and  Gentiles),  and  the  rightful  and  coming  heir  of  David's  throne,  which 
He  will  restore  and  occupy  at  His  return  from  heaven.  Luke  i:  32.  33; 
Acts  XV :  16;  ill:  21.  Jesus  has  not  surrendered  or  forfeited  His  distinctive 
claim  to  the  throne  of  His  (Jewish)  ancestor,  David,  by  ascending  on  high 
and  becoming  the  glorified  Head  of  His  body,  the  Church.  No  more  should 
Jewish  believers  in  Christ,  being  living  members  of  His  body,  be  made 
or  taught  to  surrender  anything  which  Is  divinely  ordered  and  appolnte(| 
for  l?ri\el  a^  Qo<l'»  li'itl  Chris1;'s  age-lasting  and   peculiar  people, 


♦  ♦♦Hope  of  Israel  Movements  ♦♦ 

A,  C.  GAEBELEIN,  Superintendent, 
E.  F.  STROETER,  Secretary. 

Headquarters    128    2nd    Street,   New    York     City. 

The  Hope  of  Israel  Movement  aims  to  bring  the  fullness  of  the 
Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  to  the  seed  of  Abraham.  The  leaders  of  the 
movement  are  Gentiles.  Our  principles  are  found  on  the  next  page. 
They  are  non  proselyting  and  non-denominational. 

.♦..Our  Hope.... 

A  Christian  Monthly  devoted  to  the  study  of  Prophecv  and  organ 
of  the  Hope  of  Israel  I\lovement. 

Subscription  for  i  year,  $r.oo.  Special  rates  for  larger  quantities. 
Sample  copies  sent  free  on  application. 

Jewish,  Hebrew  and   German  Publications. 

The  Hope  of  Israel  publishes  large  quantities  of  tracts  in  different 
languages  for  free  t'istributiou  among  the  Jews  in  this  and  other  lands.' 
Any  quantity  of  tracts  will  be  sent  to  Christian  people  who  desire  to 
distribute  this  literature.     Postage  must  be  sent  with  the  order. 

"  TIQWETH  ISRAI^I^,"  a  12-page  Christian  Monthly  in 
the  Jewish  language. 

OTHBR  PAMPHI^^TS  IN  ENGI.ISH: 

Life  from  the  Dead,  by  JS.  F.  Strocter. 
Does  Christianity  Annul  Judaism  ?  by  Dr.  J.  M.  StiBer. 
A  Strange  Inconsistency. 
Israel's  Awakening,  by  A.  C.  Gaebelein. 
No   Millennium  Before  Christ   Comes,    by  W.  J.  Mrd- 
jnan,  etc.,  etc. 

ADDRP^SS, 

HOPE    OF    ISRAEL, 
No.  J  28  2nd  St.,       -        -        -        New  York  City. 


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BS1556.W51 

Daniel's  great  prophecy  :  The  Eastern 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library 


